The Inconveniences
by BraceYourselvesForImpact
Summary: NaruXMai:: A series of 99 one-shots about the inconveniences of living together…with Mai.
1. Prologue

_**The Inconveniences: Prologue**_

_**-**_

"Hey, Naru," Mai smiled. She kicked the door closed and took her shoes off in a hurry, skillfully balancing the grocery bags in her arms at the same time. "I'm back from the store. They didn't have the usual kind of tea you like, so I got the next best thing, okay?"

"Mm," he grunted from within the confines of his room.

She rolled her eyes and set the overfull plastic bags on the kitchen counter, beginning to unload them.

This was normal everyday life for them. It had been for almost a week.

After Mai had lost both of her keys (cough), she talked it over with Naru, who also thought it was a good idea for her to move in.

His condo was closer to the office and her school…In other words, both of them benefited in some way. Mai got free transportation to school and to the office (courtesy of either Lin or Naru–whichever was available), and her boss got tea almost 24/7.

Mai was also content with fixing dinner every night (her cooking skills were improving), did her own laundry, and cleaned the dishes (plus practically everything else in the apartment) in exchange for no rent.

For Narcissistic Naru, it was a _very _good deal.

"Would you like some right now? I'm making some anyway–"

She stifled a gasp as she came in contact with her boss's broad chest. His tired, sapphire eyes gazed down at her. "You still have boxes to unpack, right? I'll take care of the tea and put the groceries away."

She blushed. Now that they were living together, Mai got to see sides of him she bet no one else ever had. He walked around the condo bare-foot, with his shirt un-tucked, and his first few shirt buttons unbuttoned. He didn't seem tense; he was more relaxed.

"Uh, okay…Thank you."

After squeezing around him, she slowly but surely made her way to the slightly dusty guest room. Naru had told her that the landlord offered this specific condo to him for a discount so he thought why not. It's a good thing he did, too.

Boxes seemed like they were stacked up to the ceiling. Mai sighed. She had a lot of work to do.

As she unpacked her boxes, putting all of the contents in their rightful places, she listened to the noises that were being produced from outside of her room. The rustling of plastic, the opening and closing of the refrigerator and pantry doors, hasty footsteps as the kettle went off with a loud shriek, the soft clank of porcelain as Naru set the teacups onto their respectful plates, and finally, the opening of her door.

Mai turned and smiled up at him, grunting as she stood up to take her tea from him. "Thanks."

He nodded, glancing around her new room. "You barely got anything done. For someone who used to live alone, you sure do have a lot of stuff."

Mai blushed, hitting him on the arm playfully. "Well, that's none of your business," she retorted tritely.

Naru rolled his eyes and walked out of her room. He stopped before he got too far away and turned to face her once more. "You should try going to bed at a more reasonable time tonight," he suggested.

Mai was really late when it came to her homework (or anything for that matter), so she had been staying up late to try and finish it before 1 o'clock, though sometimes she'd go over her time-limit. Naru could see it in her eyes when she woke up. They were all red, with black circles around them.

The girl huffed. "You too. You've pulled all-nighters for the past three days, Naru. I'm not the only one that needs their sleep."

"Yes, ma'am," Naru called sarcastically.

Mai replied by sticking her tongue out.

-

Mai yawned and stretched back in her chair. She had finally finished her homework for the next four school days! The thought of it made her happier than she assumed it would.

She craned her neck to look back at her silver alarm clock–one of the few things she had managed to unpack. Its neon green lights read 1:34 AM.

Mai vaguely wondered if Naru was still awake. She tippy-toed into the living room, looking for a sign that her boss might be up. When she couldn't find any, she stealthily slid over towards Naru's bedroom door, peaking in.

There he was, sound asleep with his head lying on his desk in, what Mai thought, was a seemingly painful position. She stifled a giggle at his peaceful expression which was illuminated by the lamp above him. By the looks of it, Naru had probably fallen asleep in less comfortable locations before.

She smiled lovingly, pulling a blanket off of his bed, and draping it over his shoulders, finally turning off the light and wandering back into her room.

It's a good thing she decided to move in. Without her, Naru would probably be sick in bed, especially with the winter season coming up once again. Mai suddenly wondered if he knew how to cook–well; he already made that clear the last time he was over at her place…

Sure, he knew how to cook, but what about his laundry? He seemed well kept, though…very well kept.

Was there anything he couldn't do besides making tea?

No, Naru was Naru. He could do anything he set him mind to.

-

Early that morning, Naru's alarm went off at exactly 6:00 AM, waking him with a jerk. He frowned and stretched, rubbing his tired eyes.

What time had he gone to sleep? He couldn't member.

As he sat up, the warmth that surrounded his body disappeared. Naru looked behind him finding the blanket that had mysteriously teleported from his bed onto him. He didn't remember falling asleep with it. Nor could he remember ever turning off his lamp.

Naru cracked a smile.

Well, those were just the conveniences of having your assistant live with you.

Little did he know that many inconveniences await the two of them.

* * *

So many people asked for a sequel to The Sweet Taste of Death, so here it is. I started to think about Naru and Mai living together and all I could imagine was how convenient, yet inconvenient it would be.

This fanfic will technically be a series of 99 random one-shots and will be updated sporadically. Not only will it be a challenge for me to write, but also a challenge for you to read. Though, I was wondering…for the chapter name, should I just put chapter 1, chapter 2, etc.? Or what the chapter will be about?

Let me know!


	2. Having One Bathroom

_**The Inconveniences of: having one bathroom**_

_**-**_

Mai had just woken up after successfully tangling herself in her sheets and falling out of bed when she realized her sudden urge to pee.

She glanced over to her clock: 6:22 AM. Naru had probably awoken 22 minutes ago only to start on his work again. The poor guy–always busy with something.

Mai frowned, standing slowly and rubbing away at her sleep-deprived eyes.

She squeezed her legs together in hopes that she would last until she could maneuver herself into the bathroom. Her hands gripped at her pajama bottoms as she stumbled across the room and out of the door.

She wandered through the condo with unstable legs, still not accustomed to its layout and thoroughly exhausted from lack of sleep (she needed to fix that problem).

Grabbing at the door knob as if she were a mad woman, Mai let herself enter the steamy bathroom without hesitation.

She looked around in confusion. Mai's eyes came to a halt when she found the foggy mirror. Did Naru just get out of the shower?

Her need to pee now forgotten, Mai leaned across the sink, wiping away a portion of the condensation upon the mirror.

She blinked, dumbfounded at her disheveled reflection, quickly running her fingers through and fixing her hair so that it at least looked descent. It was then that the reflection of a certain wet, towel-clad narcissist appeared behind her.

He threw in her direction a death-glare.

"What are you doing in here? Can't you see that the bathroom is currently occupied?"

Mai seemed…shocked, to say the least. She turned towards him, her cheeks beet-red in embarrassment. Her mouth moved up and down, her conscious begging, pleading for her to say something smart, but nothing came out at all.

The only thing Mai could manage to do was note how much paler Naru seemed in the light, shirt-(and not to mention pant-) less. How the tiny droplets of water gathered and fell from the ends of his dark hair.

She pulled away from him (seeing as though she was involuntarily inching closer) and covered her mouth with a shaky hand.

"Naru! Oh god, I'm so sorry! I–I swear I didn't see anything!" was the only thing to exit Mai's mouth as she nervously flailed her arms around.

A frown crossed Naru's stiff features. "Mai," he started, but paused.

Each of his hands landed on Mai's shoulders turning her around so that she couldn't see him. He blushed slightly, gently pushing her out of the bathroom.

Mai's face expressed a whole range of emotions, from shock and embarrassment to fear and excitement. It was a good thing Naru couldn't see her face then.

"I'll be out in a minute," he stated awkwardly, closing the door behind her.

It was then that Mai's need to pee suddenly returned.

-

I've thought it over and over before, and yes, as said before, it is highly unlikely that Mai and Naru would ever live together…ever. But, as Shinigami's Lullaby has already kindly stated, that shouldn't matter as long as I provide you with some NaruxMai goodness! Right?

Anyway, I decided to post this chapter just to get things going. Read and review!

Next time on _The Inconveniences_...The inconvenience of power outages!


	3. Power Outages

_**The Inconveniences of: power outages**_

_**-**_

Mai sat up quickly with a huff, her eyes barely open, but striving to be alert. She panted off the excitement noting that it was just the thunder of a passing storm that had awoken her. She sighed in relief, her body slumping into her previous sleeping position.

Rubbing her tired eyes, Mai stood and walked slowly over to her window, pulling the shades apart so that she might see something outside. But as she looked, she could see nothing for the water droplets had distorted the scenery.

A flash of light lit the sky for miles, then faded, followed by the fierce roar of thunder.

Mai shuddered. How could such a heavy storm _not _be predicted? The news clarified that it would remain cloudy.

But now that she was up, why not settle for some late-night tea? Mai nodded to herself, agreeing, her eyes lingering outside for the slightest while.

She left her room in silence, making sure her footsteps were gentle against the hard, wooden floor.

As Mai passed through the living room, she halted, noticing the bright yellow light in the darkness; it was coming from under Naru's door.

-

Naru sat peacefully in the loveseat in his room reading a book, when he heard the distinct creak of Mai's door as it opened. She had probably been woken up due to that sudden clap of thunder just a few seconds ago, he thought to himself, looking outside once again.

He, on the other hand, had woken up much earlier, when the storm first started. With nothing better to do, he just decided to calm himself with a book, like always. He did whenever he couldn't sleep, which was a lot. He was practically borderline insomniac.

Mai's footsteps rung out gently through the apartment, almost blending in with the sound of rain as it pelted their roof. Naru listened to it intently, disregarding the book that now lay forgotten in his hands.

Suddenly, they stopped, as if in front of his door.

He waited, looking up to see if she would come in, and sure enough, she knocked, her head popping into his view. "Naru, you're awake at this hour?" she inquired, shocked.

He nodded, bookmarking his spot in case he accidentally lost it. "I'm a light sleeper. You woke up just now?"

"Y–Yeah," she stuttered as thunder growled menacingly from outside Naru's window. "I was going to make tea. Do you want any?"

Before Naru could even open his mouth, or nod for that matter, everything went dead. His light went out along with the hum of the air condition, causing a quiet gasp from his assistant.

As a strike of lightning lit the sky, it illuminated the room showing Mai's face, scrunched with fear and confusion, for a split second.

Naru stood and, with much difficulty, placed his book on his bed-side table. "A power outage," he informed bluntly.

With a sound much like the squeak of a mouse, Mai turned to glare at him and said in a voice tinted with dread, "I know it's a power outage!"

Naru watched her expression in amusement. "I think I have some candles in the closet. Stay here or come with me, your choice."

"I–I'm coming with you," she whispered in fright, latching onto his arm on accident when she unintentionally ran into the edge of his bed. "I can't see where I'm going, though."

Naru paused for a moment, an oncoming breath hitched in his throat. He couldn't breathe when she was so close to him, his heart's pace sped up in the slightest, he felt…strange. He nearly never got butterflies in his stomach like this.

But he kind of liked it. The feeling wasn't at all unpleasant.

"Stay like this," he commanded her, walking forward and dragging her along.

Mai lagged behind him in confusion, her hand still gripping onto his sleeve like there was no tomorrow. She hastened her stride to catch up with his.

Naru swerved around the condo with skill as if he had lived in the place his whole life and knew it like the back of his hand. He stopped just before opening the small closet door in the living room, something Mai had never really noticed before now.

He stood straight, almost on his tippy-toes, to reach into a box from the very top of the closet. Once he retrieved two tall, white candles, handing one to Mai, he began dragging her once more, this time into the kitchen.

Now that she thought of it, Naru didn't really seem like the type of guy to carry a lighter around with him everywhere he went. That must why he was pulling her into the kitchen; to find a lighter.

Just as she thought, Naru ran his hand along the drawers, stopping when he found the correct one, opening it to find a lighter and pot holders, etc.

Slowly, carefully, with steady hands, Naru lit his wick and put it away. He turned to her and held the new, blue flame to her unlit candle. The light of them casted new shadows across the room.

Thunder struck.

"Naru," Mai started, but kept her eyes on the small, flickering fire, "You've been up since the storm started, right?"

Naru nodded for her to go on.

"Do you think this storm will get better? When will we get power back?"

Mai would never admit to her boss that she feared times like these, but she didn't need to. He already knew. The girl's anxious grip only tightened at his silence.

At this, he finally sighed, "Soon, Mai."

"Naru," she started again, "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

How could he even think about saying no?

-

Naru is so OOC! I attempted to make him cool and collected, but he ended up acting caring and…whatnot. I epically fail at life and making people in character.

Next time on _The Inconveniences_...The inconvenience of nightmares!


	4. Nightmares

_**The Inconveniences of: nightmares**_

_**-**_

Mai gasped, sitting up as fast as humanly possible as she awoke from a very distressful and uncomfortable sleep. Her eyes and cheeks were red and wet, indicating that she had been crying for quite some time. She ran a clammy hand through her hair with a sigh, her alert posture soon slumping.

Mai didn't want to go back to sleep. Maybe she could pull an all-nighter? Nah, she's not Naru…

She had dreams all of the time, of course. Weird ones, but nothing in the least bit frightening like this one. No, not like this time at all.

She massaged her temples, straightening things out in her head before she finally stood up.

This time it wasn't a dream, but a nightmare.

-

Naru awoke to the soft creak of his door being pushed open, but suspicious, his eyes remained closed. What was Mai doing up in the middle of the night, and coming into his room for that matter?

'She better know where the hell the bathroom was after living here for three freaking weeks,' Naru's face scrunched into a frustrated expression.

Her feet shuffled quietly across the hard wood floor until she had reached the side of her boss's bed. With a trembling sigh, she reached out to shake him gently, but was stopped by his tired voice.

"Why are you up so late, Mai?" he inquired. He craned his neck side-ways in order to get a better visual of the girl's shocked face. She gave a sigh of relief and smiled, much to Naru's confusion.

She motioned to the lamp on his bed-side table quietly. "Can I…?"

He nodded, wincing, though, as she turned it on.

Mai seemed to be acting stranger than usual, Naru noticed. The pale glow on Mai's face made her seem so fragile, like if he said any incorrect word, she'd break. Her fiery stubbornness had been doused; she was definitely scared or upset in some way. It also looked like she had been crying, but…why? She never whined about school or work, she did chores dutifully without complaint, and he knew (or hoped, at least) that Mai was perfectly healthy.

So then…

"What's wrong, Mai?" he asked, attempting to hide the concern in his voice. Of course he was concerned–his assistant was emotionally unstable which could obviously be a hindrance to her work, and to school.

He moved his legs over, leaving her space to sit, which she did so.

Her silence irked him, but Naru remained calm. His mom had taught him once when his brother was upset not to rush someone into telling you what the matter was. They'd eventually let it out.

The stayed quiet for the next few minutes until Mai finally opened her mouth. "I–I'm sorry or waking you up, Naru."

But when Mai stood to leave Naru became slightly angry. He wasn't going to let her barge in, wake him up, sit there for five minutes, and then walk off like nothing happened. She was going to tell him why she was upset, and she was going to tell him _now_. Screw what his mom said.

Naru caught Mai's arm in a vice grip, twisting her around to face him, and causing her to fall back on the bed. "N–Naru?!"

He glared down at her from his sitting position and said to her in a frustrated tone, "Answer my question: What's wrong?" He commanded her, leaving her speechless.

Knowing that there was no way she could get out of this now, Mai sighed, making herself comfortable on Naru's bed by lying down next to him. She looked him in the eye and said bluntly, "I had a nightmare."

A nightmare…?

Naru held back a sigh, knowing that this was kind of a big deal for his cute little assistant. He didn't want to make her even more upset than she already was, which was hard for someone with a personality like his. But after knowing her for a whole year, and living with her for three weeks. Naru knew how to calm her and push her buttons, and pushing her buttons was not on his list of to do things right now.

"What was it about?"

His query was meant to help her, not harm her, but when he asked the question it just seemed to make her even more troubled.

Naru mentally punched himself.

"Naru and Lin and everyone… they all died," she answered in a small voice. She closed her eyes tightly.

Astonished by Mai's words, Naru looked down in his lap. She had cried for him…no, not just him, for SPR. He cleared his head except of thoughts of Mai. How should he comfort her? Well, all he could tell her was what he actually knew on the subject of nightmares.

"Mai, a nightmare is just that–a nightmare. It's not real and will most likely never happen. Understand?" Naru said fluidly as if he were teaching a class. At his statement, Mai sighed, nodding slowly, her eyes still closed.

"Do you feel better now?"

But by the time he had asked if she were okay, the said girl was already fast asleep…in his bed.

-

The next morning:

Mai's eyes fluttered open as the orange rays of sun cast across her face. She threw her arms above her and arched her back in a stretch. Sitting up, she realized she wasn't in her own bed, but Naru's.

Now how could she have possibly fallen asleep in her boss's be–

Scenes from last night flashed through her head.

Hurriedly, Mai whipped her head around searching for Naru, but he was nowhere to be found (in his room, at least). She hastily threw the comforter off of her legs and jumped out of bed, running into the living room.

There he was on the uncomfortable couch still sleeping…probably with a broken back.

Mai flailed her arms in the air and looked at the clock on the wall.

"Crap, I'm late for school!"

-

Eh…crappy chapter. Sorry.

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconveniences of Valentine's Day! Fun will ensue!


	5. Valentine's Day

_**The Inconveniences of: Valentine's Day**_

_**-**_

Naru watched from the small doorway of the kitchenette with despair as Mai danced giddily around the office while preparing his tea. Once he made his presence known with a strained cough, his assistant paused and turned to him, smiling.

"Good morning, Naru! I didn't get to tell you properly today," she explained happily. Of course, Mai always bid him farewell in the morning whenever he dropped her off at school or when Lin came to pick her up, but since she was late this morning and had to run to school, she hadn't had any time.

Naru brushed away her cheerfulness like a fly. Why was she so happy anyway, Naru wondered.

'That's right,' he remembered, 'Valentine's day is tomorrow.'

Naru only harbored one feeling for such a stupid, useless event: hate. It was a waste of his and everybody else's time. Only mindless people like Mai would celebrate such a holiday.

His thoughts were interrupted by the melodic sound of his assistant's voice.

"I almost forgot to ask you, Naru. At 7:00 tomorrow, my friend asked me to babysit for her younger siblings when she goes out with her boyfriend. Her parents are going to a restaurant also," Mai inquired sullenly as if she really didn't want to.

Her boss frowned scornfully. She babysat for her friends plenty of times without telling him, why was it any different this time? "Sure," he replied callously.

The door to the office suddenly swung open revealing everyone's favorite monk/bassist.

"Yo! Hey, Naru. Preparing for Valentine's Day?" Bou-san said as he entered, closing the door behind him. He laughed as he heard a crash from within the kitchenette.

Mai's flushed face popped out of the door. "S–So what are _you_ doing tomorrow?"

"Ah, nothing special really. I have a gig to do," he said with a sigh, but his tired expression soon turned into one of laughter. He smirked, "Why? Did you want to go out together?"

Naru automatically turned to the monk with a death-glare. Mai's face turned an even deeper shade of red. She covered her cheeks to conceal her embarrassment. "In your dreams, old man!"

Her boss nodded as if it were the right thing to say. "Now, if you don't mind–"

"We're here!" Ayako shouted from behind Bou-san with a smiling face as she slammed open the front door. Naru cursed at her mentally for interrupting him.

Mai returned the smile, gesturing for the woman to come into the office (much to her boss's displeasure). John trailed behind her with a nervous smile. "John, too?"

Bou-san laughed. "The more the merrier, as they."

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Mai smiled excitedly, her question directed towards the priest. "Planning on getting chocolate from any girls?"

John blushed, scratching the back of his head nervously. "N–No. In fact, I'm doing a sermon at my local church."

"Oh, what about?"

"St. Valentine," he replied proudly.

Naru watched as Mai cocked her head innocently in confusion. He couldn't stand it when she made that face; it made him so frustrated and flustered. Instead of staying any longer, he retreated to his room, closing the door behind him a little bit roughly.

He could hear John from within the other room, sadly attempting to explain the legend of St. Valentine to the best of his abilities. Of course, he couldn't go a second without someone interrupting him.

Naru sighed and chuckled quietly, his gaze wandering out the window. He pondered over if Mai would give him chocolate.

Not that he'd eat it anyway.

-

Later that day, Mai was abducted by Ayako, with her boss's permission, of course. The two left to said miko's über-huge mansion in which (claims Ayako) they would make chocolate for tomorrow.

At this, Mai laughed. She knew that Ayako had no experience cooking what-so-ever, and surely was not going to demote herself by actually looking in a cook-book.

However, Mai was extremely shocked to find her hated nemesis already at said miko's über-huge mansion, in the waiting room, as nonchalant as ever, as if she lived in this type of house (she probably did, though). She felt appalled to be in the same presence as the medium.

Nonetheless, they continued with their cooking, failing many times, but they eventually got one of Ayako's maids to help them out (Masako seemed very ashamed for that matter, claiming that they were the ones ruining the chocolate, not her).

It became dark much sooner than anyone expected. Mai received an agitated text Naru saying that she better get her ass home soon before the sun went down. Naru had this _thing_ about her walking around during the night; he just simply wouldn't allow it (plus, it was also a school night for her).

They bid farewell to each other just as the sun began to set, Mai turning back occasionally to wave good-bye. She laughed giddily as she gently shook the box of chocolate she had just made.

She finally made it back to their condo by night-fall, sighing contently as she crossed the threshold into the warm entryway.

After kicking off her shoes and placing them messily next to Naru's, Mai looked around the room carefully. She hoped he wasn't mad for any reason. It seemed like he was in a strange mood today.

"Naru, I'm home!"

Mai blushed after realizing how much wife-like she sounded. It was embarrassing just to think about it.

"Good," he replied from in his room, "I want some tea."

Mai rolled her eyes. 'Same old, same old.'

-

The next morning, Naru had more trouble waking his assistant up than usual. She probably hadn't slept a wink the night before, imagining every possible outcome of when she gave him her home-made chocolate.

When she finally made it into the world of consciousness, Naru glared at her, commanding for her to get up and dressed already.

Once she did so, they were off to the office, but not before Mai could fuss at Naru for not eating breakfast. As usual, Naru would brush her off without the slightest care in the world.

"Be a little bit more compassionate. It _is_ Valentine's day after all."

The thing was, Naru didn't care if it was a holiday or not. For him, it was just another day.

-

Mai thought that whole day, wondering whether Naru would accept her chocolate, while she was supposed to be filing.

Everyone visited knowing that today Mai would be in (much to Naru's displeasure). John, of course, was the latest, because of his sermon in church. Once they were all present, they went on to exchange obligatory chocolates to each other. Mai even went to Lin to give him his chocolates.

"Here!" she exclaimed nervously, shoving a neatly wrapped box in his face. "Thank you for bringing me to school occasionally, and…"

The Chinese man sat clueless, staring at said object. He glanced up at Mai's face, burning with embarrassment. She stuttered, drawing back, "I–If you don't want it, I understand–"

"No," he said, his hand reaching out to snatch the box away from her. He smiled, "Thank you, Taniyama-san."

Mai smiled, nodding. "Thank _you_, Lin-san!"

And with that, she was out of there fast, never lancing back. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it with a sigh.

Ayako stood, unable to keep in her excitement any longer. "Mai's so bold! So? How did it go?"

"He took it and smiled," Mai replied, seemingly out of breath.

Ayako almost squealed. "He smiled?! I want to see!"

Naru had a headache for the rest of his time in the office.

-

He'd never admit it, but Naru was pretty pissed at the moment. Mai hadn't spoken to him ever since they had left the SPR building. He had over-heard them in the office daring Mai to go give Lin chocolates. Mai, of course, was very against this embarrassing idea and refused many times, but Bou-san and Ayako seemed bent on making her do it. Mai finally gave in.

When the sound of Lin's door opened and closed Naru became quite curious of what the Chinese man would do.

His other assistant's door reopened as Mai came out into the open once more. A chorus of disbelieving gasps was heard. Ayako claimed Mai was bold, and then continued on to ask how it went.

Mai's answer was what angered him the most. Lin smiled…for her.

Naru couldn't take it. He slammed the door to the condo open angrily, causing Mai to flinch in fear. What was wrong with him so suddenly, she wondered as she followed in after him?

Her eyes widened. She had forgotten all about Naru's chocolate. Maybe it would cheer him up?

Naru closed his door forcefully, only to have it open again. He watched Mai as she approached him like she would a wild animal. His name rolled off of her tongue, tinted in confusion. She held out a box to him.

"This is for you."

His eyes almost showed a hint of surprise as the box was shoved further into his face. He glanced at her with a questioning look, amused at her downcast expression practically burning with shame.

"I'm sorry I didn't give it to you soone–"

Mai was interrupted by the phone. She picked it up upon instinct, her eyes wondering to the ceiling as she asked who was calling.

"You idiot, get over here! I'm going to be late for my date with my boyfriend!"

Mai paused for a moment, looking at the clock on the wall. She was almost ten minutes late.

"KYA! I'm so sorry, Keiko, I totally forgot!"

Mai fumbled with the phone, quickly hanging up on her friend. She pushed the box into her boss's capable hands, quickly putting on her shoes.

Naru sighed, laying the chocolates down on the counter. "Do you have your key?"

"Yeah," she said in a rushed tone, as if he were possibly annoying her. "You sound like my mother."

He rolled his eyes, as she flew out of the house without another word. He closed the door behind her. "She should have at least made me some tea before leaving."

-

"Mayumi, Nobu-chan! How are you two?"

Mai smiled happily as she greeted her friend's younger siblings, one being the ripe age of 10 and the other only 5. She ruffled their hair just like she had done so many times before.

Keiko rolled her eyes as she left the house, calling behind her. "The doors are locked and there's food in the fridge. Bedtime is ten o'clock, okay?"

The kids ignored her, continuing to watch TV.

Mai laughed. "Yeah, okay, bye. Don't keep Takiji waiting."

"You idiot, that would be your fault!"

And with that, the door slammed behind her.

"Why did everyone go out?" Mayumi inquired slowly, cocking her head in a cute matter. Her older brother sighed, turning off the television with click of the remote.

"I've already explained this stupid lovey-dovey holiday a million times, Mayu," he started off impatiently, but used his sister's nickname to smooth his statement's tone, and Mayumi's reaction along with it.

Not long did it take for her to forget about Valentine's Day when she saw the ring on Mai's finger. She had gotten it a while ago. It had been a birthday present from Bou-san. She wore it all the time.

The small brown-haired child pointed at said object. "Are you married?" she inquired, her face twisted with confusion.

Mai flushed so much that even her hands were red. "M–Married? No, I'm much too young…"

Nobunaga sniggered at her embarrassment. "Just because she's wearing a ring doesn't mean she's married. Married people wear their wedding rings on their ring finger, not their middle. Plus, it's on their left hand. Don't ask such strange questions without knowing what you're talking about, Mayu."

Mai shuddered in fear of the child's patronizing gaze. 'He wasn't named after a famous warrior for nothing.'

-

After tucking the kids in, Mai waited until Keiko returned home. She got home around eleven that night, which she knew Naru was already slightly unhappy about since she originally claimed she would be back by ten.

Everything in the spacious condo was pitch-black except for one small light peeking out from underneath Naru's door. Mai tip-toed across the living room until she was in front of it, almost about to turn the knob. She nodded to herself encouragingly and opened it without the slightest bit of noise.

Naru sat in his love-seat in the corner of his room, looking very serene as he slept, the light of the lamp dousing him in its pale glow. A thick book lay discarded in his hands.

Mai giggled, smiling warmly. 'Should I wake him up? Nah, he looks too peaceful. But he'll catch a cold if he stays like this…'

Mai pulled a blanket from his messy bed (you wouldn't think, right?) and threw it over him, bringing it up to his shoulders. It was when she had leaned over that she saw on his bed-side table the small box of chocolate she had given to him, half-eaten.

Mai blushed.

'He ate them?!'

-

Wow, this one was pretty long. Sorry for the wait. I hope you like it!

Read and review. Because you love me.

Next time on _The Inconveniences_...The inconvenience of winning! All aboard to the beach!

Blooper from previous chapter:

-

**Naru's eyes widened as he realized Mai was asleep. He had to do something about this; bring her to her room, anything! He just couldn't have her wake up in his bed…all he would have to do was drag her into her room.**

**He slid his arms under Mai, but before he could take action, she turned away with a vulnerable look on her face, her lips parting slightly. She whimpered in her sleep.**

**Naru blushed so that even the tips of his ears were red. **

**She then turned over the other way, onto his arms. Naru stood stiff refusing to move in fear that it might wake her up. As he finally regained his sanity, he realized the pressure of Mai's breasts on his arm.**

**His mouth opened in surprise, but not long did it take for him to clench his teeth and avoid temptation.**

**He slid his arms out from under her and sighed, sitting next to her on the bed.**

**Mai was just too sexy when she slept.**


	6. Winning

_**The Inconveniences: of winning**_

_**-**_

Mai remained in the same position as the sales clerk rang his bell with an emotionless face. "We have a winner! We have a winner for the free trip to Osaka."

By her side was a frustrated Naru, burning a giant hole in the back of his assistant's head with a fierce glare. His eye twitched at the tickets the man handed to her. He called her name threateningly, "Mai…!"

-

Flashback:

_It was Sunday, meaning a workday for both Mai and Naru (of course, Naru never stops working). Since they were early for once in their lives, Mai suggested that they take the long way. She said very knowledgeably that they had many shops along this route._

_Naru sighed and agreed against his will, being dragged along the streets of an unknown part of town. As Mai said, shops and sales men lined the pavement with so many advertisements, it was tiring._

_One in particular seemed to have caught Mai's eye, the stoic man noticed. He followed her gaze over to a certain stand. There a man rang his bell unenthusiastically, announcing some first prize trip._

_Without a second glance, Mai rushed towards the stall, pulling her boss along with her. "A lottery! I've always wanted to try one of them, Naru!" She handed her money to the man who nodded for her to go ahead and try._

_Naru sighed. "There's only a one out of nine chance that you'll win. This is a total waste of your mone–"_

_Before he could finish statement, a man bumped into him, causing him to bump into Mai, causing her to spin. With his arms on each side of Mai, practically pinning her to the stand, Naru watched as the marble shot out onto the plate._

_Red._

_Which one was that again? First place?_

-

Mai stared at her ten tickets as they walked away from the stand. "At least we get a free trip to Osaka, and for three days, too. That'll be fun. I wonder who I should invite. He sure did give me a lot of ticke–"

"Who said you were going!"

-

Haha! Next chapter will be a continuation of this. They finally reach Osaka. What's the first thing that Mai does? She hits the beach. Everyone's invited (hell, it took two vans to get them all there), including Mai's school friends.

Poor Naru…Anyway, read and review!

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconvenience of one-piece suites! Poor Naru indeed.


	7. One Piece Suits

_**The Inconveniences of: one-piece suits**_

_**-**_

Mai blushed fiercely as she stumbled out of the changing room. She wrapped her fluffy blue towel around her shoulders and walked stiffly to their spot on the sand.

A huge umbrella was opened over two chairs. Their beach towels spread out over the white sand, bottles once full of sunscreen now half emptied.

Bou-san was the first to see her. He waved wildly, motioning to the limp volley ball he was blowing up. "Want to play after we eat, Mai?" The said girl nodded shyly. Ayako turned, her eyes hidden by sun glasses. She smiled widely.

"Hey, Mai! Put on some protection. It'll be bad if you get burned."

Mai blanched, reluctant to release her towel and be seen. The miko blinked confused, but then laughed. "Come on, Mai. Let us see your swim suit!"

This statement caught Naru's attention. He marked with his finger his place in the book he had been preoccupied with, and turned his gaze upwards over to the girls.

She shook her head persistently, wrapping it tighter around herself. "It's so embarrassing, though…"

Yasuhara suddenly came towards them with materials for building a sand castle. He let them fall from his arms and grabbed onto Mai's towel. "There," he said proudly as he ripped it out of her arms, revealing her…quite modest bathing suit. "I don't see what there's to be so self-conscious about. You're as flat as a board. No sex appeal at all."

She wore her school swim suit, as embarrassing as it was. She had been practically broke for the last few days. She had yet to get her paycheck that week (that 5 yen coin she used for the lottery was the last of her money). She didn't have enough money to buy a swim suit.

Naru was…disappointed to say the least. Although he could see he curves just fine through the navy blue fabric, he'd rather see her pale, creamy skin. He'd just have to be satisfie–No! What was he thinking? He narrowed his eyes at Yasuhara's words, though, thinking that it was simply not true.

Mai was very attractive (and sexy), whether she realized it herself or not.

Mai wrapped her arms around herself, blushing. She glared at the glasses man, turning away from their gazes. "Sh–Shut up!"

"But Mai," Takigawa started, laughing, "you're so cute!"

Mai decided it was time to change the subject as Ayako's expression formed into quite an angry one. "Uh, where's Masako?"

"In bed; something about not feeling too well. John's with her." Naru flipped the page with little difficulty, his eyes moving continuously across the page even though he was talking.

"What about Keiko and Michi–?"

"Here!"

Mai was suddenly glomped from behind. She turned around to look at her friend face to face. "Mi–Michiru?"

Michiru smiled, moving backwards so that she could pull her hair back into a ponytail without elbowing Mai in the face. She looked at Mai's suite. "I like the new look. Do you like mine?" she inquired, sucking in her stomach to flaunt off her new two-piece.

They laughed together as Mai punched her friend's abdomen. "Stop sucking in, you freaking twig."

Michiru turned around, "Keiko is getting the food. I kind of left her there."

"You better go get her before she starts throwing a fit," Mai said, chuckling at her friend's horrified facial expression.

"Yeah…I'll go do that."

And with that, Michiru was off in a flash. Mai laughed to herself.

Ayako handed her a brand new bottle of sunscreen. "I'm not going to pamper you if you get sunburn," she huffed.

"Don't worry, Ayako. It's very unlikely that I'll burn, but I do tan like crazy," Mai rolled her eyes at the lazy older woman.

Ayako frowned, lying in the chair next to Naru. She sighed, letting her body go limp. "You're lucky you don't have to try. It's hard for girls like me with such fair skin," the miko bragged.

"If it were me, I'd rather not get a tan, but it's not like I can help it."

Shouts from his right were heard as Bou-san and Yasuhara threw the blow-up volley ball in the air, attempting a competitive game of keep-it-up.

Naru tried to ignore everything around him, concentrating mainly on his book, but when Mai and Ayako continued to talk he lost his reading place. He looked up to glare at the two, just in time for him to catch Mai pulling down her straps, lathering the white SPF 40 on her shoulder and then down, down, right above her...

His eyes widened, refocusing themselves quickly on his book. They wandered the page for some time, but he could not seem to process the information.

The self-styled priestess looked over at him in confusion. "Were you about to say something?" she inquired, flicking up her sun glasses to get a better look at his pink face.

"No, not at all."

Ayako and Mai both shrugged at each other.

-

Mai bounced giddily as she and Naru walked back to the hotel by themselves. Her boss's story was that everyone had decided to head back and leave them behind to rest for tomorrow while Mai was still in the changing room. Of course, Naru felt it too dangerous to let Mai walk back alone, so he stayed behind to wait for her.

And there they were, walking together in such a romantic setting…but neither of them seemed to notice, especially the ever oblivious Mai.

The fading orange rays of the sun sprayed across the white sand, saying its last good-byes as they kissed the faces of lovers who continued to stay on the beach.

Mai smiled at the grand sun set. "Are you having fun, Naru?"

He scowled down at his hot-blooded assistant and then looked away, earning a glare from said woman. "Well, if you're not, there's no need to act like you are now. It's impolite, Naru. You should stop sulking and have fun for once in your life."

"I'm not sulking," he interjected.

Mai laughed at how he denied himself. "So, you're not sulking, but you're not having fun?"

Naru rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe how much Mai and his mother had in common; both so persistent and fiery. She also reminded him of Gene who took after his mom. He himself, of course, took after his dad indulging himself in books and work.

"Places like these hold no interest for me, but that doesn't mean I'm sulking."

Mai frowned, bumping into him purposely. "Aw, but you should come swimming with us tomorrow! We didn't have time to go in the water today."

He glared down at her and crossed his arms. "No."

"What?" she exclaimed, letting her arms flail in the air, over-exaggerating her exasperation, "but why not, Naru?"

"Swimming is just not my forte, Mai."

Her mouth hung open in surprise, but she continued walking, a few strands of hair falling in front of her face. "Are you saying you can't swim?" she inquired slyly, a smirk playing on her lips. She nudged him in the ribs.

Naru formed a smirk to match his assistant's. "I never said anything about and inability to swim."

"Then you'd have nothing against swimming tomorrow."

With that, she quickened her pace, leaving him in a trail of her dust. Naru stopped for a second.

"You're on."

-

Mai shouted with joy as she kicked the clear blue salt water at her best friend.

"Hey," Michiru warned, attempting to shield herself. This resulted in a splashing fight which could not be stopped. People nearby laughed at their foolishness, as while Naru glared at them.

There he stood, knee-high in ocean and as foul as ever, but even more so today since he had been forced by Mai to borrow one of Bou-san's swim trunks and go swimming with them.

Naru was admired and adored by many ladies across the beach due to his beauty, and also hated for it. Boyfriends of those many women glared daggers at him from afar. Though, Naru himself didn't notice. He was too busy keeping up with his child-like assistant.

Today, though, Naru decided to make an exception to being an ass since her friend let her borrow quite a revealing two-piece.

It was snug, but it was just right, though Keiko was a size smaller.

Everyone was actually quite impressed that Mai was able to wear something so showy. But _he_ wasn't complaining.

Bou-san and Ayako interrupted them with smiles. "Let's go really deep, okay? Can both of you swim well?" the monk inquired the youngest of the adventurous group.

"Yes," Michiru replied confidently. Mai then turned to her boss with a smug smirk as if she were challenging him. Naru, being Naru, would never give in to such a plain trick.

He matched her expression with a smug one of his own, walking deeper into the water. She followed him crawling on the ocean floor, her body swaying with the waves.

Soon it got to the point where water reached their waists. Mai scrunched her face her mind filling with thoughts of different sea creatures and the danger they held. She opened her eyes to look and Bou-san and Naru who were both ahead of her, Ayako, and Michiru. They seemed unfazed.

"There aren't any jellyfish or stingrays in this water, right?"

The monk turned and shrugged with a smile. Ayako slapped his shoulder. "Are there? If I swear, if I have to go to the hospital, I'm pressing charges!"

He laughed and rubbed the patch of red on his skin. "Relax girls. I'm sure there's nothing too dangerous out here."

Naru rolled his eyes and continued waking despite Mai's whimpering.

Finally, the water reached Naru's collarbone. The amount people had reduced dramatically as they made their way farther into the ocean.

He looked back to check on Mai, throwing her a questioning look as she paused. "T–The ocean floor is really cold…I can't walk any more. It's scary," she admitted, her lips quivering with every word.

"It's only natural, Ma–"

He stopped talking. Mai's eyes widened.

"KYA!" she screamed, fastening herself onto his neck. "There's something in the water!" Naru was taken back by her sudden outburst and fought to keep himself above the water. His arms instinctively wrapped around his assistant's waist.

Michiru paused at her friend's words, but instead of risking herself, quickly jumped back. Of course, she was reasonable, and thought happy thoughts. It could be something other than…a living creature. Like seaweed, for instance!

Ayako clung to Bou-san's arm, earning a laugh from him.

Mai situated herself in a more comfortable position and wrapped her legs around Naru's waist, hiding her face in the crook of his neck to conceal her look of shame. She hugged him tighter.

Naru flushed in embarrassment due their closeness. What's worse (or better for any NaruXMai fans out there (hell, this is a freaking NaruXMai fanfic)) was that she was dripping wet. The pressure of her breasts on his pale skin caused him to tense.

"We'll…go back," he said to her slowly, nervously patting her head in a comforting motion.

Bou-san laughed at his awkward condition. "Yeah, we're going back."

-

Wee! I hope you liked the wet NaruXMai goodness! I know I did.

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconvenience of bugs!

Eek.


	8. Bugs

_**The Inconveniences of: bugs**_

_**-**_

Mai took a deep breath and held it within her lungs, holding back a dreadful scream. She retreated from the kitchen slowly, incidentally bumping into her boss. He looked down at her with a questioning look, stumped about what could make his poor assistant so frightened.

She pointed to some location inside the small kitchen, causing a look of confusion to form on his face. "What's wrong, Mai?"

Mai's index finger wavered for a second. She quickly shook her head and pushed him in front of her using him as a shield while she peeked from behind him. She moaned with this most disgruntled look on her face.

Naru sighed and moved, leaving her guard-less.

"Whatever it is, I'm not helping you. Just make sure to fix my tea."

But just as he moved to leave, Mai grabbed his arm in a vice-grip. "Kill it," she commanded through clenched teeth.

"Kill wha–?"

Suddenly, an ear-splitting shriek reached him, and before he could do anything about it, Mai was clinging to his arm and dragging him back in fear of something.

"Bug!" she cried. She was trembling, her grip becoming tighter with each passing second.

Naru glanced onto the counter where his tea was being made previously. A cockroach sat, waiting for one of the two to make a move (or so that's what it seemed like to the contemplating man). He sighed.

He would never know why girls were so frightened by harmless little insects like they were. After all, they were…quite _harmless _and _much _smaller than themselves. If anyone were scared, it would be the bug, of course. But Mai probably didn't care who was more scared, just that she wanted the damn thing dead.

Mentally, he laughed, assuming that he would have to play the part of the big hero who saves the life of his princess from her untimely death.

What was he thinking?

Mai whimpered from behind him as the insect flew from the counter and landed onto the linoleum floor. Slowly, her grip loosened. She staggered back until her legs hit the couch and climbed onto the black sofa with great difficulty as she watched the roach with wary eyes.

Naru glared at her. "Will you calm down? It's a mere bug, Mai."

"No," she refused, "I'm not getting down until you kill that thing!"

Naru rolled his eyes, walking right past the bug. Mai's brow furrowed in confusion; she crouched down on the couch like a cat so she could see what he was doing in the other room.

He snatched a newspaper from the dining room table and rolled it up, like he was used to doing such things. Mai watched as he squashed the bug, its guts now covering the sports section.

Naru really did hate sports…

She sighed, relieved, and jumped off of the couch. "Naru," she said with a smile, "Thank you so much! I thought I was going to die."

"You're much more stupid than I previously thought you were."

"_What?!_"

-

Eeew! This chapter was hard to write because I was fending off an evil moth from landing on my computer screen (when will they ever learn?!). The irony, right?

Anyway, I hope you had fun reading. By the way, I can't remember who asked, but Lin does not live with them. He lives in another building close by, though.

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconveniences of sakura viewing!


	9. Sakura Viewing

_**The Inconveniences of: sakura viewing**_

_**-**_

The thumps of Mai's hurried footsteps ran throughout the homey condo, bringing Naru out of his quite peaceful slumber. Her voice could also be heard; she was talking on the phone with someone (by the sound her voice, a friend), he comprehended, removing his covers.

Sighing, he sat up reluctantly, and looked at his alarm clock, his eyes filling with such malice as he realized what time it was.

Naru hurriedly jumped out of bed, still in his half-buttoned pajamas and slammed his door open. Mai, who happened to be right in front of him, winced in fear and told who ever she was talking to to hold on for a second. She turned to him with a nervous smile as she placed her free hand onto the microphone of it.

"You're awake, Naru!"

"How could I not be? You're so loud. And it's 5 o' clock in the morning. Who are you talking to?"

Her smiling face turned into a scowl. "You're too crude for this early in the morning. Go back to sleep," she ordered, pushing on his chest so that he would back up into his room. But Naru didn't budge no matter how hard she pushed. Instead, he snatched the cordless phone from her hand and put it up to his ear.

"Who's speaking?"

"Oh, Naru it's you! Hey, did Mai tell you–?"

Naru was more than shocked to hear Bou-san's voice over the phone. He looked at Mai strangely and put the phone back to his ear and said in an irritated voice, "Why the hell are you two talking so early in the morning?"

The monk on the other side laughed. "We're making plans for today…to go sakura viewing. Have you ever been? We're going to Mt. Fuji this year! Mai said she'd do all the cooking, so I took orders. I couldn't get in touch with Lin however–"

Naru shook his head in refusal even though he was perfectly aware that Bou-san could not see him. "Who said Mai was going?" he inquired glaring at his assistant with tired eyes.

She bit her lip anxiously, about to open her mouth, probably to say something like, 'I can explain', but Naru had already slammed the phone down on the receiver.

"Tell me, Mai. Who exactly gave you permission to go out on your own on a work day? Certainly not me," he said in a sarcastic tone. Mai seethed, stealing the phone back.

"When Bou-san offered to take all of us sakura viewing to Mt. Fuji, I automatically agreed. I've only seen it from really far away, so…you come too, Naru! It'll be fun; sitting under the sakura trees with your best friends and staring up at Mt. Fuji!"

Never before had Naru seen his assistant so excited about something like this. He sighed, running a calloused hand through his tussled hair.

"You're working double time tomorrow, understand?"

Her chocolate eyes suddenly became lit with enthusiasm and joy. She jumped happily, and redialed the monk's number, waiting a few rings until he picked up.

She continued their conversation, which went on for another few minutes.

Naru stared at her with a strange sadness that seemed uncharacteristic for him. Mai was what he looked forward to every work day. She was always smiling, though whenever he told her there was filing to do, she scowled and pouted mechanically.

There was nothing to do about it he figured–

"Of course Naru will come…right?" Mai inquired slowly, turning to her boss. The face she made seemed to snap him back into reality.

No. No, he had work to do. Besides…

He had been to Mt. Fuji many times, searching for his brother with a lost hope he kept inside of him ever since he arrived in Japan. Every time, though, had been for naught. The beautiful landscape just brought him an agonizing feeling and bad memories of a dead brother that he would never see again. His twin…

For a split second, he almost refused. That was, until he remembered Mai's words.

_Would_ it be fun? Could just the presence of Mai and friends erase those troubling thoughts away?

He supposed…it couldn't be too bad.

"Of course I'll go," he said, though not without hesitation.

Mai's eyes glittered once more. The simplest things made her happy, he swore.

-

Both of them had already taken a shower; Mai's lasting almost an hour, and Naru's lasting only about 25 minutes. Then they had eaten breakfast (Mai had to fix everyone's lunch, which took about another hour) and hurried over to Lin's place, telling him about the whole situation in a matter of seconds (due to Mai's constant reminder that they would be late).

Naru seriously didn't know what the rush was. They had all freaking day long, but _Mai _wanted to get a good spot.

Lin, of course, had no other choice but to except his boss's orders. They took the van and drove to the office, waiting for the others to arrive.

Madoka was the last of them (cheers for Madoka). After she finally made it around 9:00, apologizing that she was late, they piled into the two vans with beach bags full of blankets, towels, and whatever else they could possibly fit into them.

And they were off on a three mile drive to Mt. Fuji!

-

"We're here," said Lin, looking back at Mai with tired eyes. He had been staring at been staring at a map for the past three hours, and Mai could guess that he was not the happiest camper. Neither was Naru who sat beside her, as grumpy and narcissistic as always.

They had been arguing for the whole ride about whether or not they should stay until midnight. Of course, the pink-haired woman completely agreed with Mai. Staying out late under the cherry blossoms in front of Mt. Fuji…how much more romantic can you get?

Naru, on the other hand, disagreed that point, saying that it would screw with their internal clocks and such. Screw internal clocks, Mai said.

The girls jumped out of the van hastily, grabbing their things as they ran to look for a good spot.

Lin turned to Naru. "This occasion must be rare for Mai. I think you should let her enjoy it."

The man glared at his assistant, discarding the blanket he was using onto the floor of the car. He brushed off Lin's words with the shake of his head and met up with Bou-san, Ayako, John, and Masako (Yasuhara, _unfortunately_, was busy at college with preparations for some festival, so he couldn't come).

"Mai and Madoka went to find a spot."

Ayako beamed, the look on her face positively blinding. "I hope it's a good one. Oh, I can't wait!"

Naru didn't get it. What was so special about sakura viewing that made girls giggle and be all happy about? Did he miss something while Mai was blabbering on about it in the car?

Bou-san and John carried bags while the girls (and Naru and Lin) went empty. They plainly refused to do any work, but Naru was sure that if Mai were there, she'd help them.

They walked and walked; Mt. Fuji got bigger with every step they took, towering over them like a giant monster. The only one who seemed to notice, though, was Naru.

Finally, they reached Mai and Madoka, who were waving like crazy trying to obtain their attention. Together they had picked out a beautiful spot right under a huge sakura tree, with an equally beautiful view. Naru was actually surprised that it hadn't already been taken.

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any more annoying," Naru mumbled in a low tone once he got closer so that only Mai could hear.

Mai frowned, her fist clenching until her knuckles became white. She grabbed his sleeve threateningly. "Care to repeat that?!"

Masako turned to the pair, a questioning look on her face. "Is anything the matter?" She was getting better at the whole Mai Naru situation. She tried to let go by hiding her distress behind pretty smiles and cute laughs, but everyone knew that deep down, she was hurt.

John had even confronted her once. He had told her if she was ever feeling bad or needed someone to talk to that she could always confide in him, but they knew that the Medium never would. No…Masako would never injure her pride like that.

And of course, the kimono-wearing 16-year old replied with something like, "How bold of you, Brown-san", earning the priest a bright red face.

Mai found it strange, though. Ever since then, the two had become closer. As if they had been connected with some strange bond, but not something like love…John _was_ a priest, after all. Maybe one day, though…Love works in mysterious ways, right?

The nonchalant shrug by Naru was enough to snap her out of her day dreaming.

She turned red. "Don't lie!"

Bou-san, Ayako, and Ayako all laughed while John prepared in case a fight broke out. Masako rolled her eyes and turned away to gaze up at the beautiful spring blossoms.

Behind them, the monk finally decided that they should lay down the blankets and eat (so simple minded is he…). As he and John each grabbed two ends of the giant blanket, spreading across the lush green grass, Mai turned to face her boss.

"Is something wrong? You don't seem too happy, Naru," she said, a tone of hurt in her voice.

From behind his brown-haired assistant, a shout was heard from Ayako as the monk did something wrong. She pointed in a certain direction, telling him that the blanket should face that way.

Lin and Madoka also pitched in (Lin was forced, if it even matters) to help as Masako stood by, inspecting their handy work.

Mai smiled nervously. "We…We got a great view of the mountain. Beautiful, isn't it?"

A gust of wind blew and the blanket was suddenly ripped from Madoka's hands, slapping Bou-san directly in the forehead. His pained moans could be heard along with various laughs from everybody, including a small chuckle from Lin.

Naru turned his head ever so slowly, gazing into his assistant's eyes with the most stunning expression she'd ever seen. A smile tugged at his lips, the wind running through his unruly (though always sexy) hair.

"Yes," he managed simply, "very beautiful."

Mai flushed complete crimson, averting her gaze back to the humongous mountain in front of her. Naru's smile suddenly faltered. He looked down at his feet.

"Come on, Mai, Naru. Sit down!" Madoka called, the tone of excitement in her voice crystal clear.

Mai's head shot up, some blush still evident on her face. "Yeah, we got it."

Naru followed behind her slowly over towards where the huge blanket was, sat, and fell backwards, gazing up into the branches of the old sakura tree.

Bou-san laughed at him, unpacking the drink he had brought and the food Mai had made (Lin told Mai that he didn't want any, much to her disappointment). "Wow. Sorry for waking you up on the wrong side of the bed, Naru. You really aren't a morning person, are you?"

Mai shook her head and whispered to the team who leaned in closely to hear, "Naru's a vampire. I swear, he doesn't go to sleep until 4 o' clock in the morning!"

"He certainly fits the role of a sexy vampire, now doesn't he?" Ayako pondered, leaning back and taping her chin as if it actually mattered. The priest from across the blanket sweat dropped.

Bou-san, on the other hand, completely disagreed. "No, no, no! You've got it all wrong. Naru's too…_himself_ to be a sexy vampire."

Madoka nodded along with the monk, as did a few others. "Then what about a ninja assassin? Oh, forget ninjas, what about a pirate?"

They ignored Naru's glares, and soon, a full-blown conversation about super heroes and villains was launched. Lin, who rested against the trunk of the tree they lay under, smiled at the narcissist.

"Just let them enjoy it."

-

Mai awoke when her head collided with the window as the van hit a bump. She opened her weary eyes to find an array of beautiful city lights against the dark blue midnight that surrounded them. She inhaled deeply at the astonishing sight wiping the drool from her mouth.

It was very silent in the black van that blended into the night. The only sound to be heard was that of the tires against the road and the hum of the heater on low. Madoka sat, unconscious, in the passenger seat next to Lin, who was driving ahead of the other van.

She sat up straight, her back aching with every movement, but she refused to let such a thing ruin her moment of pure bliss. It was the most peaceful she'd ever been.

The figure beside her shifted slowly. He opened his eyes and gazed at her with stunning sapphire.

She winced and turned to him with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you up, Naru?" she whispered her inquiry, careful not to wake up the pink-haired woman.

He shook his head and sighed through his nose, rubbing his eyes which were clearly laced with fatigue. Mai couldn't help but laugh slightly at his childish antics.

While moving into a move comfortable position, she inadvertently brushed up against his cold hand. Assuming that he was cold, she offered him one of the discarded blankets they hadn't used for the picnic which had previously occupied the van floor.

Naru, of course, rejected this offer. Instead, he took it and threw it over her.

Mai turned various shades of red at his actions. His conscience was probably blurred with exhaustion, she thought. After all, she _had_ dragged him out of bed at five in the morning, forced him to come to Mt. Fuji, 62 miles away from home, and made him stay there until midnight.

Or maybe someone had spiked his drink?

"Naru, are you sure you're okay? Do you have a fever?" She brought her hand up to the soft peach skin of his forehead and held it in that position. In truth, she had never really had much experience with checking for such things, but from what she had deduced, Naru was fever free.

He probably was…just tired.

Naru grabbed her hand and held it in his cold one, resting his head in the crook of her neck and smelling his assistant's freshly washed hair.

Unfortunately for Mai, he was sound asleep as soon as his cheek came in contact with her hard shoulder blade, his breathing was completely even (as uncomfortable as it was).

Yes.

Naru's drink–definitely spiked.

-

Haha. In my story, Naru has quite a low alcohol-temperance, and is apparently a sexy vampire/ninja assassin/pirate. Don't worry–there will come a time in this lousy fanfiction in which Mai is slipped some alcohol as well (I already have all of my events listed from 1 to 99. Nine down, ninety more to go). But until then, endure my crappy writing.

(**DEAR MADDIE!** These chapters are in sequence. The things in previous chapters have happened before. So if something happens in chapter 34, chapter 35 might make a reference to it. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!)

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconvenience of Doll's Festival! Mai and the girls are off on a night of adventure!

Crappy blooper. Below. Please enjoy:

-

**Takigawa mumbled grumpily, resting his face on the kitchen counter. Sighing, he straightened himself looking at his 'to do' list which was pinned to his silver fridge with a cute strawberry magnet Mai had once given to him.**

**Rubbing his weary eyes, he scanned the piece of paper, a certain number catching his attention in particular.**

**No. 7 – Pack drinks for sakura viewing! **

**Speaking of which, he should call Mai soon and plan driving arrangements and such. What a hassle, the monk thought to himself.**

**Rummaging around in his fridge, he grabbed as much drinks he could find and stuck them into the ice chest. He guessed what ever beverages he had available would do. Once his freezer was ajar, Takigawa pulled out a rather large bag of ice he had bought the day prior, cutting it open carelessly with a nearby kitchen knife. He dumped it on top of the already chilled brinks and smiled.**

**Unbeknownst to him, an unlabeled glass of sake was among the many cans of soda and bottles of water, waiting to pounce.**


	10. Doll's Festivals

_**The Inconveniences of: the Doll's Festival**_

_**-**_

Naru breathed a sigh he didn't even realize he was holding in. He almost grabbed her by the wrist and told her to stay, but decided against doing such an embarrassing thing in front of everyone. Takigawa and Yasuhara would definitely have a frenzy–which Naru could not let happen.

Mai turned and flashed him an apologetic smile as Ayako pulled her out of the office by the arm. Masako, of course, followed behind the two and closed the door behind them without a second thought.

Bou-san sighed as well, resting his head on his arm as he lay at Mai's desk. "Well, there's no stopping them now," he chuckled under his breath.

Naru didn't respond. Instead, his eyes lingered on the door that had just slammed in their faces. His tongue suddenly yearned for Mai's tea and he was beginning to miss his cute assistant already. Well, she would only be gone for half of the day, which wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. He wondered where they were going out anyway.

Today was a Japanese holiday: the Doll's Festival, a day where family's honored their daughters and prayed for their health. Naru, of course, being raised in England all his life, did not grow up with such a holiday. In his mind it was just another regular day. The only reason he even let Mai go with Ayako and Masako was because he could trust those two…well, Masako, anyway.

With a glare that not even the devil himself could conjure, Naru turned to face the monk/bassist. "You can file in place of Mai."

Bou-san's eyes widened, but he then smirked. "Bring it on! I can do anything Mai can do, right?" he voice was pumped with energy as he flexed his arms jokingly. Naru's malicious glare cut through his air of confidence as he pointed to a rather large mound of papers in the corner of Mai's otherwise neat-looking desk.

"If that's so, you should have that done by the end of the day," he finished with a wave of his hand and retreated into the cave which he called his office.

The monk stared at it in amazement. "What the hell? If Mai's not filing these, then what are you paying her for?!"

Naru heard the man's inquiry and couldn't help but think to himself; something he did a lot when it involved Mai. 'What _am_ I paying her for?' Well, there was definitely something that caused him to want her to keep him around. Was it her tea, perhaps? Yes, it was her tea. Why else have such a useless assistant around?

-

Mai quickly covered her mouth before sneezing loudly. Ayako turned around in mid-stride, a look of surprise plastered onto her face. She slowed her pace so that she and Masako could catch up with her. "Mai, are you okay? You're not sick or anything, are you? Naru _has_ been taking care of you, right?!"

Heads turned, staring strangely at the three who blocked the entrance to some random shoe store that they were passing in the mall. Ayako and Masako were not at all fazed by the attention, but Mai, on the other hand, would rather be dead. People soon returned to their own business, paying no mind to them.

"A–Ayako," Mai whispered, bringing a finger to her lips as if to hush her, "It was just a sneeze."

The miko sighed with the slightest hint of frustration evident in her voice as she rested a hand on her younger friend's shoulder. "You know how I worry!"

With a smile on her face, Mai began walking once more. "Really? I never would've guessed." Masako nodded in agreement with her, only to earn a glare from Ayako.

"Oi!"

-

Mai, Masako, and Ayako came back from their shopping spree at almost 7 o' clock at night which made a once angry Naru…even angrier. He sat on the couch, waiting, as did Takigawa, who had promised to take Ayako home, tapping his foot rather impatiently.

Ayako and Mai barged into the office in a fit of laughter, tripping over each other's own feet as they stumbled through the threshold, as the silent Masako followed behind them. The two who sat waiting looked at the black-haired girl for an explanation. She sighed, "A man stopped us in the mall and asked us if we would like some sweet sake since today is the Dolls' Festival. It seems that these two were offered more than just one, though."

Ayako laughed, her face tinted red. "Don't be such a prick, Masa-cha~n! You had one, too," she said, grabbing the poor girl by the arm, much to her dislike.

"I hailed a cab, but it took longer to get here than expected," Masako finished, pulling her arm from the miko's grip. The woman pouted, plopping onto the couch next to Bou-san.

Mai mimicked Ayako's movements and fell back into the couch opposite, next to Naru. She giggled at her boss's furious expression, slapping his arm lightly to indicate that he needed to lighten up. "Geez, don't act so serious. It's a holiday, right? You should relax! Do you want me to give you a massage?"

But before she could say another word, Mai was pulled up by her wrist and then out of the room with three others watching in amazement behind them. She attempted to keep up with his long and fast strides as the rushed through the hallway and down the stairs, into the night air. Still slightly shocked by Naru's actions, she pulled back a little as he brought her to the car. "W–What are you doing?" she inquired, though it went unheard.

It was the first time Mai had ever felt this way; very lightheaded, but in a good way. Plus the night air felt so nice against her peach skin as well as the warmth that Naru gave off (he was always so unfeeling you'd think he was cold, but no). Unfortunately for Mai, the heat that had previously encompassed her hand disappeared as her boss literally shoved her into the passenger seat, slamming the door behind her. She stared in panic as he walked around the front of the car and slid into the driver's seat.

There was an unbearable silence as the city lights passed by them, becoming fewer and fewer as they advanced closer to the condo. Mai wished to break it, but feared for her life.

"Mai…" Naru, instead, started for her.

The sound of his voice shocked her. It sounded like he was controlling his anger rather well, but also like he had some other unknown emotion dwelling inside of him. Mai had heard it in the tone of his voice a few times before; sometimes in cases when she was in trouble and others when she would wake up in the middle of the night because of different reasons.

Was it worry?

Her boss's words revived her from her thoughts. "When we get home, you're going to make me tea and explain to me everything that happened today, okay?" he said with a smile that seemed very obvious and painful.

Mai flinched at his words, sobering up a little. "And…if I can't remember?"

"Well then," Naru smiled, his fingers tapping the steering wheel as they came to a stop at a red light, "I'll just have to jog your memory."

-

Bou-san sat, pouting, with a drunk and laughing miko hanging off of his broad shoulder. He sighed.

"He's not coming back, is he?"

-

Sorry it took so long. I'm preparing my cosplay for a 'con' that I'm attending in a week plus I have to read three books this summer. I've only gotten through four chapters of the first one…

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconveniences of Mai's friends! A guy friend of Mai's comes for a visit!


	11. Mai's Friends

_**The Inconveniences of: Mai's friends**_

_**-**_

Naru sighed, clicking his pen impatiently as he counted each time the phone rang. Where the hell was Mai? She better be awake by now. Even if it _was _her day off and they _had _just gotten back from a tiring case didn't mean she could just laze around the house like she had nothing to do. Plus she had finisher laundry before he could start his! Were there limits to how much trouble a person could be? Not for Mai, anyway.

Finally, her footsteps sounded down the hallways of the condo at a rapid pace as she hurried to answer the call. "Shibuya residence, may I ask whose calling?" she managed to squeeze from her lungs before stifling a coughing fit. She paused for a bit, her hand still covering her mouth as she listened to what whoever was on the phone had to say.

A sigh escaped the narcissistic man's lips. All was right with the world once more–until Mai began _blushing_.

Naru froze and his heart momentarily stopped as he leaned forward slightly to make sure what he was seeing was real. Sure enough, the pink in her cheeks was not just a cause of the setting sun. Who on earth could she be talking to? The bashful murmurs of his assistant brought him back to reality.

"Y–Yes! I'm living at a friend's house right now, so...I'm used to saying it."

By this time, much to Naru's relief, the blood in Mai's face had drained and she looked back to normal (as close to normal as could be). The numbness in his body had disappeared along with whatever feeling (unknown to him) he had just experienced, and he gripped the pen in his hand tighter. He really should get back to work…

"Right now, I guess. The sooner the better, right? Oh, and again, thank you for everything, Izumi," Mai said happily, setting the phone down onto the holder.

Izumi…The name was unfamiliar to Naru. He was pretty sure that he had never heard Mai's speak of this person, either. It made sense because whoever this Izumi was didn't know she had been living with him, but both Michiru and Keiko did. Then there was one last thing that bothered Naru just a tad bit much…

Was Izumi a girl or a boy?

He was pretty sure it was name meant for wither genders, so when it came to mind that Mai could possibly be blushing over another guy, Naru felt…maybe angry? It was natural, though, to feel protective of a friend, wasn't it? It's not like was in the wrong for feeling like such.

Naru nodded to himself.

He looked up from his papers as Mai approached him, but he spoke before she could explain anything. "Who was that? Giving my phone number out, now are we?"

Mai glared at him and stuck out her tongue in a childish manner. "You know my cell phone broke a week ago. My friends should have some way to at least contact me," she barked at him, her lips forming into a cute pout as they always did when Naru made fun or teased her.

"And _whose_ fault was it that your cell phone broke?"

Mai groaned in frustration, stomping her foot onto the ground. She sighed realizing that she never won in arguments against Naru, especially over things that were clearly her own mistake. It was best, at this point, to give up and give in. "Hey, I'm going to make tea for when Izumi comes over, do you want any?" she inquired, walking into the kitchen to prepare for her guest.

Just as Naru was about to give his reply, he paused, letting his mouth hang open. Her words repeated themselves in his head; _'–for when Izumi comes over'_.

"Excuse me?" he said, his eyes narrowed. "When did I give you permission to invite anyone over? If memory serves, I don't think I did." He stood for his chair, towering over her small frame with that 'if looks could kill' glance that would make even the toughest of karate fighters cower in fear. Nearly burning herself on the stove as she put the kettle on, Mai shrunk into a corner, dread written across her face. She seriously didn't understand why Naru was so upset.

Naru sighed, turning away swiftly. He might have overdone it a little. "Why is this _Izumi _coming over anyway?"

Mai sighed as if to say 'that was a close one', and began retrieving the teacups from the top cabinet. "I miss school a lot, so he promised to write down all of the assignments I fail to be present for. We just met the other day since he was a new student, but we sure did hit it off," Mai laughed slightly, dismissing the look of irritation he sent her way.

So Izumi was a 'he', huh? This made him uncomfortable because by _hit it off_ Naru wasn't sure she meant as friends or…

His thoughts were interrupted by the ring of the bell. Naru glared at the door from across the room thinking he should have such an annoying thing removed.

"I'll get it!" Mai called to him, excited.

Naru waited, his impatience showing through his actions; his frustrated scowl, crossed arms, constantly tapping foot…Mai ignored these intolerant signs and continued to run towards the door, opening in hastily with a content expression that just seemed to piss Naru off even more.

A blonde boy with strikingly green eyes clad in a loose gray shirt and some baggy, ripped jeans stood out in the chilly spring air. He obviously had no idea what season it was, or the idea of a freaking belt. He took a folder from the backpack, gently hitting Mai on the head with it. "That's what you get for being absent," he said first before Mai could even welcome him. His voice was low and coarse as if he had been to a wild concert and screamed the whole time and his eyes were half-lidded. To Naru he looked like a walking corpse. One had to wonder…did he go to school looking like that?

"Come in, Izumi. Geez, you'll get a cold if you stay outside in close like those. Oh, by the way, this is my–uh–friend, Shibuya Kazuya. He's been nice enough to let me stay in his condo for now." Izumi's eyes were kept glued to said man as he was forced inside by the small girl now behind him.

Naru had never, in almost the year he'd known her, heard Mai call him a 'friend'. The term bothered him. Not usually, but somehow, when it came from Mai's lips, a feeling unfamiliar arose in him, just waiting for a way to bubble to the surface, however much he tried to stop it. As he stood against the wall, absentmindedly fiddling with the inside of his pocket while attempting not to stomp off in anger, Naru regarded him with a quick glance as if he could care less.

"Nice to meet you, Kazuya-san. I've heard a lot about yo–"

Izumi's voice trailed off and grunts of pain followed. Mai smiled flawlessly, her words never faltering as she removed the heel of her shoe from the dent in his. "Well, enough about that! Come in and I'll fix you some tea."

Taking this as his sign to shut up, the blonde tagged along behind her slowly.

"I'm making tea, Izumi," Mai started slowly, feeling the discomforting atmosphere. Once she had sat him down on the couch and told him to make himself at home, she dashed off to the kitchen stop the shrill whistling of the kettle. Naru and Izumi's staring contest, however, did not stop with anything that happened.

Izumi didn't really seem to care. He looked over and broke eye contact with Naru with a smile for Mai as she re-entered the living room, a tray with three tea cups in her hands. Naru's lips couldn't help but form a frown, even though he had turned out victorious in their little competition.

"There," she said, setting it down on the coffee table in front of them. "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble for you, Izumi. You're a life saver!"

Naru scoffed in his cup, glaring at her from across the table. He had saved her ass literally more times than this Izumi-guy could ever make up for, but did he ever get a, "you're a life saver," in that cute, bubbly voice? No. He was getting more pissed off with each passing minute, Mai noticed this.

"Naru, are you feeling oka–?"

"I'll be in my room if you need me."

And with that, the brooding, stoic, condescending, pompous, arrogant, and narcissistic man stormed out of the living room and into his own, the door slamming shut behind him. Sighing, Mai slumped into the couch. "What's his problem?"

-

With one last frustrated breath, Naru pushed himself from his leaning position off of the door, until Mai's somewhat dejected voice was heard from within the other room. He paused, although he knew she'd be pissed about it, to listen to their conversation. He was never the kind to be in someone's business, but things were just suddenly different when it came to Mai. This thought in mind, he pressed his ear to the door.

"What's his problem?"

Izumi sighed. There was the sound of rustling fabric, and suddenly, Naru was regretting ever had left the two alone. He had no idea what was going on, but he couldn't open his door to peek at the two unless he wanted to blow his cover. This guy was uncharted territory; who knew if he was trained as a spy, or even talented in judo?

"You're so dense, Mai," he replied, a smirk evident in his voice.

Naru mentally fumed. The only person who could call her dense and get away with it was him! Obviously, Mai wasn't too appreciative of her new nick name either.

"W–What? How am I so dense? Why is that so funny?" she asked as if in panic as her new friend began to laugh.

"I think that that 'acquaintance' of yours is maybe a little jealous over us. How cute; your friends really care about you, Ma–" Before he could finish his embarrassing comment, the sound of a pillow whizzing through the air reached Naru's ears. He could just imagine Mai with her cute, pouting face all flustered and red–

Wait. Did _Izumi_ say _he_ was _jealous_? No. No. No. No. No.

Naru pressed his ear harder against the door in hopes that he would be able hear more clearly.

"J–Jealous?" Mai responded, sounding troubled and flustered just as he had predicted. "Naru _does not_ get jealous. If anything, he's probably tired from work and–"

Naru nodded along with his assistant until Izumi's soft voice interrupted her.

"Work. He's your boss, but he's around our ages, right? Shouldn't he be in school or something?"

"Well, I really don't know much about that…He never really talks about himself."

"So you live with him, but you don't know why he's not in school, you've never talked or met with any relatives of his, you haven't–Look, Mai, I don't think it's safe with this guy."

Naru glared at the ceiling, frowning at Mai's friend's words. Who was he to comment about his lifestyle? The only reason he never talked about himself is because Mai never asked. He'd gladly tell her anything she wanted to know.

He smiled when Mai came, without a second thought, to his defense. "But Naru's über smart, he has his own business; all in all, he's a good guy when he's not trying to practice ways that piss me off. And…I want Naru to tell me stuff about him at his own pace. Plus, his condo is really great and my bed is super comfy! You should sleep over one day!"

It took a while to recover from shock. Naru sat in front of his door with his legs crossed, unwilling to move from his spot. He sipped his tea slowly.

Apparently, Izumi was having the same problem. Finally, he stood, setting his cup of tea down onto the coffee table. "Well, Mai, I ought to be going. See you at school," he said, leaving the condo door open for Mai to close as she watched him ride away on his bike.

Naru stood as well, stretching his arms.

There was no way in hell that loser was coming over ever again…especially not for a sleep over…in Mai's room.

-

Finally! This seemed to take forever. Thanks for all of the reviews. Each one makes me more determined to write, Keep it up!

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconvenience of protectiveness! Mai stays out late, and Naru doesn't like it.


	12. Protectiveness

_**The Inconveniences of: protectiveness**_

_**-**_

Naru crossed his arms and stared at his work papers, taping his foot impatiently as he waited for Mai to return home. And here he had no clue where she was, what she was doing, whom she was with, or even why. All he knew was that Mai had promised to be home at a reasonable time.

Apparently she didn't know that 11:53 PM was by _no_ means a reasonable time.

A click was heard and the front door opened signaling his assistant's delayed return. There was silence for a moment as Mai pulled off her shoes in the entrance area, followed by the distinctive creak of the floor boards. She tippy-toed silently past her boss's room and almost made it to her own when–

"Mai."

Naru's voice seemed to catch her off guard since she surely hadn't heard his door open, or his footsteps. She paused, slightly startled and holding a hand to her heart in case it might try to pop out, sighing in relief as she turned around to find only her angry boss and not some evil ghost that would–Wait, did someone say 'angry boss'?

"Naru?" She tried to stay strong in the face of adversity, but her voice only seemed to come out as a scared little whimper.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"To my…room?" Mai said in a questioning way as she raised her hands to shield herself.

"What the hell were you doing out so late? Do you even know what time it is?" Naru inquired, taking her by the arm and pulling her into the living room, throwing her onto the couch with a frown. Mai knew he meant business. He usually never cursed under normal circumstances. A thought suddenly came to her.

"Oh, but look," Mai smiled, lifting a bag marked with the insignia of a nearby convenience store. "I got sugar stars, plus that new tea that you like so much. We ran out so I–"

Placing each one of his hands on either side of her head as if to stop her from escaping Naru leaned in closer to his small assistant. "I don't care about the tea!" His breath caressed her skin as he suddenly became winded, inhaling and exhaling slowly. He hadn't meant to sound so evil and demanding, but it at the same time, he had. He wanted her to know that it wasn't okay to be walking around on the streets at 12 o' clock, and he wanted her to know that she didn't have to do it for his sake.

Instead of being understanding like he hoped she would, Mai shrunk back, salty tears welling in her big, chocolate eyes; one of his biggest weaknesses (not that he'd ever admit it). His nails gripped at the leather couch.

Sighing, he let go and plopped into the available space next to his assistant, stealing the small bag of sugar stars from her arms. He stared at it for a while, scoffing at the cute animal faces that adorned its plastic, pink outside. He opened it slowly and held it in front of her face, as if to offer her some.

Her sobs finally came to a halt as the bag entered her vision.

Naru smiled, thankful that she couldn't see him. The way he could cheer her up so quickly amused him to no end. His lips swiftly tilted downwards, however, as he remembered the cause of her unhappiness. He watched silently as Mai pulled out a candy, popping into her mouth.

Mai looked at him, noticing his intense gaze. A crunch was heard as she caught the ball of sugar in between her teeth. "Try one," she demanded, taking another one.

"No," Naru said as he shook his head in refusal, "I'm not too fond of–"

Before he could finish his sentence, a sweet taste entered him mouth. Mai's finger lingered on his slightly parted lips in contemplation as she examined his look of shock.

She smiled, her hiccups now completely gone.

"Yummy!"

-

Wow. That was retarded and short. Sorry I didn't update it sooner.

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconvenience of White Day! Naru had no idea there was a day to celebrate such a color.


	13. White Day

_**The Inconveniences of: White Day**_

_**-**_

Naru stood in front of the Japanese calendar Mai had bought him last year (each month had a different fruit, hers being watermelon. She told him it was the only reason she had gotten it). He gazed at the number 14 in red, ignoring the picture of tomatoes above it. Below the kanji print, it said in English: 'White Day'. Why have a holiday for a color, Naru wondered.

After a bit of research, he learned that White Day was not to celebrate a color, but an 'answer day' for Valentine's Day. Did that mean he had to give Mai a gift in return? It would be rude not to, but then again, Naru was nothing _but_ rude. Though Mai _had_ given him chocolates, obligatory or not. He should do the same right?

But what did guys usually give to the girls they liked…o–or were friends with?

Following more investigation, Naru had figured out that popular gifts given on White Day include cookies, jewelry, white chocolate, and marshmallows, but it usually tended to be something two to three times as expensive as the chocolate given on Valentine's Day. Husbands might even give their wives non-edible items of sentimental value such as white lingerie.

He imagined picking out such a thing at the mall, having women stare at him interestedly and then seeing Mai's shocked face at his well thought of gift. The thought made him chuckle in amusement.

The door to his office opened as Mai walked in with a tray of tea.

"Hey, Naru. What's so funny?"

"Nothing," he replied with a chuckle, his eyes landing on his assistant's chest. He averted them, however, seeing her confused look.

"Nothing at all." Naru rose to his feet, silently stretching. He had been sitting in his chair nearly all day researching all that he could about tomorrow and White Day; it concerned him, to say the least. Why had he been so torn up over this stupid holiday thing? It was just another way for companies to make money off of fawning boyfriends. It might be nice, though, to give her something.

Instead of choosing something that she may not like, why not ask her…?

Mai sighed, rolling her eyes and turning away. "Of course, when there's something funny, _I _don't hear about it."

"Wait, Mai–" And as she was about to walk out, Naru grabbed for her wrist, pulling her closer to him. Much to their surprise, her foot caught on a wrinkle in the rug and she fell forwards, the force of her unexpected weight causing her boss to lose his balance and buffer the landing for her.

But what happened next stunned both of them the most.

Their lips connected.

They stayed in that same position for some time slightly confused. Naru watched in amusement as his assistant's face lit up a bright red color just like Rudolph's nose. As he sat up, she was forced to straddle his legs. They were silent for a moment, and Mai hoped to God that Naru wouldn't make her speak first, so she found it much to her pleasure when he started, "Well," with a deep breath of confidence.

"I guess you got your White Day present early."

Before she could register what he had said, he was already past the threshold, slamming the door behind himself.

She felt her chest in an attempt to slow the rapid beat of her heart. Stupid Naru…

-

Naru exhaled, quite unnerved that he could still feel her soft touch. What had he been about to do, he asked himself, leaning tiredly against the door to his office. She was still inside, probably thinking of how disgusting he was to have done something so…and without her consent, as well! But it _was_ technically an accident.

'Oh, god,' he thought, clenching his trembling fists. 'I almost forced myself on her. Dammit, Mai…Why is she so…?'

And he had gone and acted all cool. It was a good thing he got out of there before he could move any further, though. Things surely would've gotten out of control before long, and he would go crazy, lost in the gentle scent of strawberries and cinnamon that surrounded her in a thick layer.

What else could he have done besides what he did?

Life with this girl was just too complicated.

-

Sorry it's so short. I hope you like this cute little one.

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconvenience of Friday the 13th! Naru should've listened to Mai and thrown that salt over his shoulders.


	14. Friday the 13th

_**The Inconveniences of: Friday the 13**__**th**_

_**-**_

It started out as a wonderful day, until Mai looked at the fruit calendar that Naru wanted so desperately to throw away. It was Friday the 13th; Mai's most dreaded day of the year.

No one ever seemed to notice, however, the torture she went through on that day. Last year her friend Michiru won an award for 1st place on the track team, and the year before that her other friend Keiko had found her boyfriend. Not her, though; never Mai. Something bad _always_ happened to her. Broken mirrors, spilt salt, walking under ladders, opening umbrellas inside, and so on…

So, whenever the 13th came around this year, she'd make sure to take extra precautions.

Naru looked at Mai questioningly and jingled the car keys before her face, indicating that they would be late if they didn't leave now. She nodded, walking with him down to the parking lot, but stopped suddenly as she saw a completely black cat just a few feet from the vehicle.

"N–Naru!" Mai grabbed her boss's arm as he began to walk towards it. He turned around in confusion. "There's a black cat! You can't go!"

Naru stood still for a moment, finally registering what she had said. He was on the verge of laughter. "Why waste my time listening to silly superstitions?" her inquired, waving away his assistant's feared expression as he continued walking past a black cat and towards the car that lie waiting for him to drive.

Unfortunately, after that moment, things rapidly got worse. The car refused to start, it began to rain as they walked, and Mai was officially late for class two seconds after the bell had rung. Of course, she blamed all of this on her boss for his neglect. "I was going to be so careful today, too! How could things get any worse?" Mai complained as they walked up to her school's gate.

Naru, however, didn't seem to mind as he and his assistant became increasingly soaked. He stood, listening contently to her ramble, his eyes staying glued to her now transparent school shirt. He seemed to love the way she pushed out her chest when she was upset or angry, the curve of her delicate body fascinating him.

"You should stop worrying about this whole Friday 13th thing and start with that see-through shirt of yours," he started. It was good that all of the students running past them in a hurry were girls. If guys stopped to look, it would just worsen the situation. Girls, on the other hand, would just glance at them and giggle.

She looked down in shock, crossing her arms in a hurry to hide herself, her face turning the reddest he'd ever seen it. "N–No, Naru! Don't look!"

Ignoring her statement, his gaze remained firm. "I've already seen," he established, watching with amusement as she turned away from him, her body drenched from head to toe.

"Naru, you jerk!" she said, without really meaning it, though. It wasn't really his fault they were standing unprotected in the rain (it was, technically, because he ignored Mai's warning). Mai was probably too flustered at his stoic disposition to think logically. Her hair was dripping with rainwater; even her underwear was probably soaked. His eyes lingered on the clasp of his assistant's pink bra, sighing at her uselessness.

Naru shrugged off his coat, resting it gently on her shoulders. He turned her around, hugging her head to his chest. It seemed like she was having a pretty bad day and needed some comforting, he just hoped it wouldn't become a reoccurring thing. "Have a good day," he said, and did the one thing that might make her it a little better.

Mai stared at his back as he walked away, her facial expression laced with confusion as she could still feel the pressure of his lips present on her own.

Was it just her or was he beginning to open up to her more? Mai sighed, hugging the black coat on her shoulders closer, taking in her boss's smell. He didn't wear cologne, she knew, but right then, she had gotten a whiff of his shampoo that rested on the color of the black material. It smelled so good, like the scent of outside.

Mai had never told anyone, but she had used it once when she ran out of her own. Naru never said anything, but he seemed to notice the lack of her strawberry scent which usually filled the condo. She loved smelling like him, however. It made her feel secure in a way.

She smiled, running into the school building for protection from the rain, her face flushed, and cold from the precipitation.

Things couldn't get any better than that.

-

This one was also very short, I know. I'm sorry, but as payment for lack of awesomeness, I put a perverted scene in there for Naru! I had so much fun writing that, you don't even know. There will be more of Naru's perverted side very soon (in the next chapter, in fact), so stay tuned?

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconvenience of wind! What kind of underwear is Mai wearing today?


	15. Wind

_**The Inconveniences of: Wind**_

_**-**_

Mai brought her arm to her face to shield it from the large gust of wind that swept across the crowded sidewalks of Tokyo. This was the windiest day they had seen in a while, fun for innocent children to play out in, but with harsh breezes like they were having, Mai knew it indicated a storm. It was only too bad she didn't have an open field to run and play around in like she had when she was a kid.

But the realization that a storm was advancing seemed to make Mai happy. After all, it hadn't rained it what seemed like months. Bou-san called it a mini-drought.

Mai watched the dark gray rain clouds move in from the north as she headed up the stairs to the office. Upon entering, she flinched at the unsympathetic tone in Naru's strained voice. "Fifteen minutes late."

The deep monotone words left his mouth, entering Mai's brain and melting it like goo. She loved his voice, although most of the time harsh and uncaring, when he was pleased with something she had done (which did not happen often) the forcefulness of his words eased, and he became tranquil.

Disregarding his cold greeting, Mai smiled at his slumped figure on the couch. He was reading a file. "I'll start some tea for you. Hey, did you notice how windy it is outside today? You think it will storm badly?"

His mouth formed a straight line. "Nature is unpredictable, Mai."

Mai rolled her eyes and set her school bag under the empty coat rack. Her muffled reply went unheard by her boss as he remained focused on the paragraph he was reading. After a few minutes of waiting, the tea was done, and Naru couldn't have been happier as the soothingly warm liquid passed through his lips.

There was something about her tea that he loved. Every single brew she made was simply perfect. The right flavor; not too bland, but not too strong either. And how did she manage to brew it for the exact right amount of time? The tea she made for him was always the right temperature. It was what he looked forward to when he thought of a long day of work. She was what got him through the day. How did he ever live without her?

Mai held her stomach then, setting her own cup of Earl Grey down onto the coffee table before her. "Ugh. I'm so hungry."

Her words attracted Naru's attention and he paused, looking up from the file he seemed to be reading quite intently. A quizzical eyebrow was raised. "And…?"

She looked towards him, aghast. "Don't be like that. I forgot to pack myself a bento this morning because I was in such a rush, so I was hungry all during my classes. Let's go get something to eat." The brown-haired girl's voice sounded almost pleading. She looked at him, her chocolate colored eyes widening and her bottom lip quivering.

Naru held back a smile. Her puppy-dog-pouts were one of the most hilarious expressions he had ever seen in his entire life. Looking away so that he would avoid an oncoming attack of laughter, the stoic man sighed. "Must I go with you? I have work I need to finish."

_Unfortunately_, Naru did have a lot of work to do, and this was no lie. It seemed as if the mountain of files he needed to look through were piling up towards the ceiling. But could he _possibly_ resist that face?

Mai's expression then turned to a real pout at his words. Her face downcast with disappointment, she stood, suddenly looking so lonely and small. She said in a soft tone, "Yeah, okay. I'm sorry for bothering you…"

Now _that l_eft him on the spot.

Before either of them knew it, Naru was standing and advancing towards the door. He turned to her, his famous impassive expression plastered onto his face. "Are you coming or not?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow at her look of confusion.

It was like his body was moving on its own; he couldn't even control what he was saying anymore. He felt the cold sting of the words that escaped his lips, which were completely unintentional. Mai didn't seem to notice, however. Her mood instantaneously lifted, and her voice was now laced with pleasure.

"Are you sure?"

"Hurry before I change my mind."

-

And so that was their situation. Simple, maybe, but with all of the wind that was whipping throughout the city, it was hard to take one step without a flyer for a lost dog winding up plastered to your face. Ever since that moment, Mai had been complaining the whole way to the coffee shop that they should buy a psychic dog that would help solve cases. Naru, of course, completely disagreed with her idea.

And it all passed by in a flash.

Before Naru could make an extremely rude retort to whatever Mai had said a couple of moments before, which would surely make her whip around in anger and snap at him, his eyes, for some reason he couldn't quite process correctly, were glued to Mai's thighs, moving upwards as if he couldn't control himself.

Mai held down the front of her skirt, afraid of someone seeing, as a huge gust blew by, but didn't bother holding the back…Not that _he _minded.

His eyes traveled across the pink dotted design in a flurry, just before her skirt fluttered down. He hoped to GOD that no one had seen that besides him. Look around, almost suspiciously, he edged closer towards Mai as if he were protecting her.

They stayed silent the rest of their way back to the office, and Mai decided to ignore the fact that her boss was practically breathing down her neck. It was nice in a way.

-

OMG! I haven't updated in so long. I just want you to know that I will not be giving up on this fanfiction anytime soon, it's just that…school has started and I already have three projects, plus I have a scholarship to maintain, so I probably won't have much time on the computer…

Sorry if you got tired of waiting.

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconvenience of sun rises!


	16. Sun Rises

_**The Inconveniences of: Sun Rises**_

Mai gasped, waking from a rather restless sleep. Pushing her covers off hurriedly, she rushed over to her window, forcing it open with all the strength she had in her. It was unbelievably hot in Naru's condo, and se just couldn't take it!

Fanning herself with her hand she sighed and rubbed her eyes groggily. What time was it anyway? The sun was just rising, its rays spreading across the city like Mai had never seen. She stared in awe at the beauty of the sight.

She smiled widely, he eyes still drooping slightly as she ran to wake Naru up.

But there was no need. He was already awake and leaning out of his window himself. He was wearing boxers and a T-shirt, much to Mai's surprise. She blushed.

Naru turned to find Mai in his doorway seeing her dressed clad in a tight tank-top and shorts that seemed to rise up with every motion she made.

She was surprised, of course, that he was up at the extreme hour. He usually woke up at 6 in the morning if he had gone to sleep early. Or he went to sleep at 4 in the morning and got up at 8.

"Naru, why are you up?" she inquired, tilting her head in confusion.

Sleepily, Naru ruffled his hair, not really caring his appearance in his half conscious state. Although he was pretty disturbed about Mai's attire, in fact, he had to turn away in order to maintain control of the blood rising to his face.

"Why are _you_ up?" he countered, yawning.

Mai paused for a moment, attempting to come up with a witty reply. She was also slightly upset that he hadn't answered her question. "I asked you first, jerk," she replied. Not cool, she told herself.

Naru chuckled at her childishness, however.

"What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be trying to get back to sleep?" he questioned, but didn't turn around. Mai went to go stand next to him, crossing her arms behind her back.

Shrugging, Mai turned towards him. "It was really hot. I couldn't sleep."

Her expression was so innocent and precious. And the way the Sun gave her skin a golden sort of glow made Naru's heart beat speed up rapidly.

Naru blushed slightly and turned away from her even more so. He could barely see her cleavage out of the corner of his eye. But Mai didn't seem to realize her lewd display of womanhood. Instead she took hold of his arm and held it her chest, in an attempt to make him face her.

"Naru~" she whined, a pout plastered onto her features.

Naru pushed her away, looking down to hide his flushed face. Mai was stunned and angry, but her negative feelings were washed away by concern.

"I have to go to the bathroom," he said nonchalantly, closing his door a little harder than he would've liked.

"I wonder if he's sick," the brunette contemplated.

...

I haven't updated this damn thing in nearly a year. I feel so bad. I now all of them are soooo OOC, but I really can't help it. Sorry for the delay, though. My computer crashed over the summer and I have to use my dad's crappy laptop… :(

Anyway, next time on _The Inconveniences_…The inconvenience of sun sets!


	17. Sun Sets

_**The Inconveniences of: Sun Sets**_

She was late, Naru thought to himself nervously, impatiently tapping his fingers on his desk. What on earth was she doing at that time? he wondered. He had expected to hear her light footsteps in the kitchenette of the office as she made him Earl Grey tea nearly an hour ago, but she still wasn't there.

Of course he had tried calling the girl's cell phone. And, of course, there was no answer. Knowing Mai she had probably left it at home on her bed-side table. Naru shook his head at her neglect. Why did she pay for a cell phone that she didn't use?

It was almost 5:00 P.M. and Naru was becoming increasingly jittery, alert to any sounds that may indicate Mai was in the office. And finally, his patience paid off. The door to the office opened with a squeak, and clicked as it closed.

Mai had known there would be no use trying to sneak in quietly. No doubt Naru had already called for tea multiple times, upset when she had not answered.

She hurried into the kitchen and began to make Naru's tea like usual, already knowing he was most likely peeved. She had cleaning duty that day, _plus_ she had to water the plants and help the Student Council prepare for the Cultural Festival coming up like she had promised Michiru. She hoped Naru wouldn't be too mad at her for being late.

When her boss hadn't called for her in the next few minutes, Mai was slightly bothered. Honestly, she had expected him to go off on a long rant/lecture/fit and explain to her the dangers of Tokyo (or something like that) as soon as she entered to office.

Then again, it wasn't that late. The sun was only starting to set.

The kettle whistled softly, waking Mai from her reverie and letting her know that the water had boiled. She poured the hot water in a cup and placed the tea bag in, letting it become soaked.

As the liquid became a brownish color, Mai carried it to her boss's office, setting it down on his desk. He was looking out of the large window behind his desk, the blinds drawn up. Mai felt that he was busy and was about to leave when his voice reached her ears.

"Mai," he called in a dangerous tone of voice.

Mai flinched, knowing he was trying to hold himself back from yelling at her. Instead of going off on her, he sighed, motioning for her to pull up a chair next to him. And so she did, nervously at first, but she felt like he was trying to be nice so why not take up the offer.

"Watch the sun set with me," he said, the rays of sun that fell upon the city reflecting off of his face beautifully. He looked like a god, Mai thought, her heart skipping a beat.

"I was worried about you, Mai," Naru admitted, causing the young brunette to hide the pink tint on her cheeks. "What were you doing after school?" he inquired. There seemed to be an expression of hurt and confusion on his face, surprising his assistant.

She hesitated, twiddling her thumbs idly. "I…had cleaning duty and I had to water the plants. Then I helped with setting up the Cultural Fest. I'm sorry for being late. I guess I lost track of time."

"And your phone," Naru murmured. His eyes narrowed.

Mai laughed nervously. "Haha. I guess I forgot it at home again!"

"Next time you're late for work," Naru said suddenly, a wide grin across his face (which Mai obviously noted was fake), "I'll go to your school and cause a commotion, understand?" his tone was sweet and sugary.

Her heart leapt in her chest and Mai looked back to the beautiful sun set that was nearly over.

"Y–Yes sir…"

…

I know, short and crappy. It was so hard to write though. And hopefully I can fit in as many chapters as I can before the school year starts. Maybe I'll write one every day? I dunno. Thank you all so, so much for your amazing reviews (and also for that comment about the OOC-ness (Mai). I really do worry about it).

I hope you liked it! Read and Review! :)

Next on _The Inconveniences_…The Inconveniences of Knives. I think Mai needs a band-aid? Hurry Naru!


	18. Knives

_**The Inconveniences of: Knives**_

All was quiet in Naru's condo, Mai noticed as she entered the front foyer, her arms full with grocery bags. She kicked off her shoes, leaving them messily strewn in front of the door and not even bothering to put them in the small cubby to the right of her.

She entered the living area next, careful to walk around the couch, whose back faced her. The coffee table that sat in between it and the large T.V. against the wall, littered with Mai's homework and papers that she had forgotten to pick up.

She stopped at the entrance of the kitchen that happened to be against the same wall, unconsciously looking for Naru.

She looked left of the living room. There were two small doors, the one closest to her being the bathroom, and the other was a closet. Neither of the lights was on, so Mai figured that the only other place her boss could be was…

She turned to the right now, facing the side which her and Naru's rooms were located, Naru's being the nearest. His light was dim, so much so that she could barely tell it was on, but it was on, nonetheless.

Mai looked at the time on the cable box just beneath the giant T.V. on their entertainment center. It was late, almost 8:30 P.M. She felt bad for staying out so long, but she honestly couldn't decide on which bananas she should get. They were usually done eating dinner by this time, Mai thought guiltily.

Oh well, it was Mai's turn to fix dinner and she wasn't going to disappoint Naru!

"And then," Mai murmured to herself, clearly confused by the instructions in the cook-book, a look of pure frustration screwing onto her face. She sighed, not understanding a word of it. Taking a sharp knife from the silverware drawer, Mai began to cut the carrots into small slivers as step two directed.

"Mai," Naru's voice came from behind, sounding just as frustrated as Mai did. Mai gasped at the presence she had not realized was there, and jumped in surprise, cutting her finger in the process.

"When will you be done? I have to eat you know. You've been at this for god knows how long. It's nearly 9 o' clock," Naru scolded, looking at her condescendingly. He looked down at her finger and narrowed his eyes.

"T–This is harder than it looks," she complained, placing the knife on the cutting board. She looked about to cry, she was so distraught, but before she could tell him anything smug like, 'Why don't you make your own dinner, then?' Naru grabbed her hand and inspected her bleeding finger, licking it slowly.

Mai flushed bright red, attempting to pull back from him. Naru, of course, won over their little struggle, successfully gaining control of her arm. Her finger slipped pasted his lips and rested in his mouth for a moment before he began to suck the metallic-tasting substance from her cut, running his tongue over it.

Mai tried to hold herself back, but a small moan escaped her lips, causing her to cover her mouth in surprise. It shocked Naru, though he smirked and closed his eyes, pretending that he had never herd the whimper.

"Where are the bandages?" he inquired, admiring her flushed face (which slightly resembled a tomato).

Mai stopped to think, the embarrassment disappearing from her cheeks. She faced Naru with a smile and said simply, "I–I used the last one the other day," she said with a laugh as if she wasn't worried that her finger was gushing blood.

Naru sighed releasing her finger, now covered in his saliva, taking a tissue and wrapping it around her index finger as a makeshift band-aid. Mai smiled thankfully up at him, her moan completely forgotten.

But Naru would not forget the cute noise his assistant had made. No, how could he forget? These things were what made Mai precious to him. Naru let a ghost of a smile appear on his face.

"Now, if you don't mind," Naru said, slightly nudging her out of the way. Mai looked at him in confusion, tilting her head. He took to knife she had incidentally nicked herself on and licked her blood from the blade, glancing out of the corner of his eye to see her shocked face.

He began to cut the carrot on the wooden board in a much neater fashion than Mai had previously done, causing her to redden. She was so easily embarrassed, Naru mused, smirking.

"_I'll_ cook dinner."

…

Okay, so I hope I did okay on the description of Naru's condo. I can't tell. I'm really bad at describing. It's a weak point.

Anyway, the next chapter is just for you, **EmoRocknLoveGirl**!

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: Teddy Bears! Be wary of entering Mai's room!


	19. Teddy Bears

_**The Inconveniences of: Teddy Bears**_

After dinner, Mai had retreated into her room for a while. This worried Naru since she hadn't been as talkative today as usual, he observed. Besides, she usually went straight to doing her homework after dinner, which, Naru noted dully, was strewn out on the coffee table in the living room.

As usual.

So why was Mai in her room, he wondered. Mai usually never broke this tradition, not that it was something she tried to keep up, but just that it was a habit ever since she had come to live with Naru.

And her light was on, so it wasn't like she was planning on going to sleep or anything. Naru was truly baffled. What on earth could she possibly be doing?

Realizing now how he had stood in the same spot for nearly three minutes thinking of his assistant, Naru decided to check in on her.

He opened the door and called her name softly, shocked at what he saw next. Mai was shirtless, with just a pair of pajama shorts on. Her back was to him, however, which slightly softened the blow. Well, not really.

Mai shrieked, realization kicking in, and grabbed whatever happened to be closest to her. A teddy bear.

It soared across the room at lightning speed, slapping Naru square in the face just before he had time to close the door in surprise. He held the teddy bear against his chest, as if to calm his rapidly beating heart, his face literally flushed as red as a beet.

He sighed, the image of the girl still in his head.

He looked at the teddy bear in his hands and chuckled slightly. Next time, he'd knock…

…

I hope it wasn't too short! I'm not too good at pacing myself, if anyone could tell. n

Naru kind of seemed like some sort of teenage high school girl in the last few paragraphs. I thought it was amusing. Anyway, read and review!

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: Festivals. In which Mai and the gang wear Yukatas and celebrate!


	20. Festivals

_**The Inconveniences of: Festivals**_

Mai looked stunning in her kimono, to say the least. It was a cream color, with golden petals scattered across it. The obi was light blue with ornate white and gold flowers here and there, an intricate bow tied in the back.

Her hair was pulled into two small braids (courtesy of Ayako and Masako fussing over it for nearly half an hour). They also decided to do Mai's makeup, something that she would, on any other normal occasion, deny them the pleasure of. Naru didn't think it she needed it, but it was still a nice touch.

Naru decided to go with a plain dark blue Yukata, sky blue clouds floating across the bottom. Naru didn't really care much for it, but his assistant seemed to think it was (for lack of a better word) 'cute,' or something along those lines.

The streets were lit with multi-colored paper lanterns. There were booths, each one with a special event. Mai tugged at her boss's sleeve, much like a little child would, and eyed a certain one of these booths, looking up at him with an innocent expression.

"Naru, Naru, we have to go do that…!" she whispered bashfully, pointing a finger at the goldfish scoop stand. Naru was amazed at how simple it was to please the girl, and nodded with a smile. Mai's eyes brightened, but he stopped her.

"Later." She faltered, her eyes questioning. "If you do actually get the goldfish, do you think the poor thing will be able to survive the night? We'll go to that booth last," he clarified, making her take into account that she'd have to hold the goldfish the whole festival.

Mai nodded slowly, understanding what he was saying. Bou-san nudged her, a grin plastered to his face. "You really are a child, aren't you Mai?"

The brunette flushed bright red, turning away from the monk's mocking expression. Defending herself she said loudly, "I've just never done it, okay?"

Ayako suddenly popped out from nowhere, her eyes wide with disbelief. She poked Mai's forehead. "You've never scooped for goldfish?" she inquired, quite amused by the smaller girl.

"N–No? Is that a bad thing?"

"You've missed out! I'll teach you the art of goldfish scooping Mai. There's a certain technique that's really useful–"

"I bet you wouldn't be able to scoop up one of those goldfish if your life depended on it, old woman." Bou-san jested, poking the red-head's arm.

"Shut up! No one asked you, you stupid monk."

John smiled, taking a picture as they argued. He looked like a tourist, Mai thought with a giggle, a cheap camera hanging from his neck. Ayako gasped, horrified at the flash. "I wasn't ready!" she cried, attempting to steal the piece of machinery from the priest to delete any pictures of herself that weren't 'becoming'.

To all of their surprise, the Australian held the camera just out of her reach, teasing her naughtily. Bou-san laughed and Mai swore there was a smile on Masako's face. Now they should get a picture of _that_.

Mai looked over at her boss. The stoic man was currently talking to Lin, maybe discussing what they were going to eat later on and how they were going to pay for it. She smiled, catching his attention, and waved.

Naru was slightly taken aback by her brilliance and turned back to his assistant in embarrassment. Mai smiled even wider.

Tucking the paper fan into her obi, she turned to the rest. "So, what are we going to do first?"

…

After eating their fill of takoyaki and yakisoba, they all stood on the bank of the river and watched the fireworks display, Mai with the little goldfish she had won in her right hand and a Shiba Inu plushie Bou-san had won for her in the other. She sighed, turning towards Naru who stared up into the light-filled sky in wonder.

She boldly wrapped an arm around his waist and snuggled into his chest, breathing in his scent. He always smelled of lilacs for some unknown reason, Mai had one day noticed, but today he had the scent of a summer festival on him. It was nice.

Naru was shocked and reacted slowly, but nonetheless, draped his arm over her shoulder. "Did you have fun trampling over my wallet, Mai?" he inquired, a honey-filled smile on his face.

Looking up at the man, Mai blanched at the sweetly sarcastic expression across his face. How unromantic of him, she thought, her eye twitching in anger. "Just take it out of my paycheck, jerk."

To her surprise, Naru's grip on her tightened and his other arm wrapped around her thin waist. Soon he had her trapped in a full-blown hug. Mai seemed to be confused, so with a laugh, Naru decided to explain.

"I had fun spoiling you today," he said.

"Oh." She said, her eyes growing wide. That was a surprise.

A huge firework exploded in the summer night sky causing exclamations of excitement from their teammates (or mainly Bou-san and Ayako). It faded against the dark backdrop of the festival grounds.

Before she could say another word, his lips sealed her own in a gentle kiss. Mai gasped a little, startled as Naru ran his tongue across her bottom lip and gained access into her mouth, but couldn't help but calm at the gentle circles he began rubbing on her back. He explored her mouth momentarily, playing with her tongue once or twice, but finally decided that they needed air.

Mai flushed, looking away if she were trying to escape from the hungry gaze fixated on her. "A–Ah, Naru…"

Seeing her discomfort and that she was just about an attempt to break from his hold (not that she _could_), Naru sat on the grass, motioning for her to follow suit. And naturally, Mai broke out into smile, sitting next to him. But that isn't what Naru had meant.

He pulled her onto his lap with a smirk. Her smile had been wiped off. She struggled against him, but with no avail. "Naru, this is mortifying. Let me go," she whispered, not wanting to cause too much of a commotion.

"I'm not going to, so don't waste your energy," Naru said, and she knew that he was right, so she managed to calm down. His voice suddenly became a lot softer, "Watch the fireworks with me."

Mai blushed, settling into a comfortable position on his lap, holding her Shiba Inu plushie tightly to her chest. She stared at the plastic bag in her other hand, watching as Sachie (her goldfish) swam in circles.

That night everyone went home with full bellies and fond memories. :)

…

Hur huur. Did you like my cheesy line at the end? Made it up myself. (Sorry, it's 10:16 A.M. and I haven't gone to sleep yet. I was up reading fanfiction and writing this crappily done chapter.) Anyway, I hope you like it. Read and Review!

By the way, I already have a whole list of chapters typed out. Losing keys is somewhere on there, so just hold on tight! v

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: Movies! Genre, anyone?


	21. Movies

_**The Inconveniences of: Movies**_

Mai hugged a bowl of popcorn to her chest as shot ran throughout her boss's condo. She gasped in surprise. This movie had been scarier than she thought it would be. Every other second she was freaking out. Darn Naru and his amazing surround sound!

The brunette jumped once more, but this time was not due to the extremely horrifying (from Mai's point of view) film on T.V. No, this time a door was open. Naru's door.

Slightly embarrassed at how she had reacted, Mai looked away, a slight blush tinting her puffed out cheeks. "Are you done work, Naru?" she inquired, attempting to appear nonchalant.

Her boss raised an eyebrow, plopping onto the couch next to brunette girl. "For the moment," he replied and then looked towards the television. "What are you watching? It's really loud."

Mai gasped as another shot was heard. She laughed nervously. "I–It's a movie called Battle Royale. It's about these high school students that have to kill off their classmates one by one until only one person is left, or something along those lines."

"I see that," he said.

If that bowl of popcorn Mai was holding at that moment, in those trembling arms, was alive, it would've been strangled to death by now, Naru thought. He raised his head to get a good look at his assistant's face as it concentrated on the screen before her. Her eyes were wide in fear.

Naru sighed. "Why are you watching something you know is going to scare you?" he questioned, grabbing the remote from her. He almost managed to change the channel before Mai snatched it back from him, a frown tugging at her lips.

"It does not scare me," she exclaimed over the roaring T.V. Naru somehow doubted that, though.

Shrugging, he let her have her way. "You're in denial," he stated simply.

"How would you know?" Mai countered, obviously offended at his jab to her pride. It was true, though, she knew. She just wouldn't accept the fact in front of her boss. She knew that if she did that he would constantly badger her about it on cases. 'Oh, remember that one time when you were so scared of that movie?' she could hear him tease in her mind.

"It really isn't hard to tell. You're holding that plastic bowl so tight, I think it might crack," he said, chuckling.

Mai looked down, seeing that he was right. White spots streaked along side the bowl, indicating that it was bending in a way not meant to. Mai blushed, releasing it from her tight grip.

"S–Shut up!" she blushed.

A scream erupted from the speakers, causing Mai to follow suit. Naru winced, his ears ringing afterwards. He couldn't help but glare at Mai, although he was thoroughly aware that she really hadn't meant to or that she was unable to control herself. But seriously, the television was much too loud.

He reached to grab the remote out from his assistant's hands, but she drew back uncertainly. "You're going to change it," she stated, accusingly.

He blinked, "No, I'm not. I just want to turn down the volume," he reasoned.

"No!" she whined, holding it farther from his reach, not expecting him to lean over her and actually grab for it. But he did, his arm giving out as Mai thrashed beneath him, and he fell on top of her, his nose buried in the crook of her neck. Mai's popcorn now laid forgotten on the floor.

Mai's breath hitched, and she suddenly became still. Her inhalation was heavy.

Naru sighed, "We could've avoided this if you would have just given me the damn thing." His breath warmed her skin, causing tremors to crawl along her spine.

Seeing this, Naru stayed in that position a while longer, just to feel Mai tremble under him (how sadistic!). Her hands wandered to his shirt and she pushed him away slightly, afraid she might burst with humiliation. "Get off…" she struggled.

He complied with a smile, holding the remote in his right hand.

Mai gapped. "You…!"

…

THIS IS SET AFTER THEY FIGURE OUT ABOUT GENE'S DEATH. Just for your notification.

This is your chapter for the day! Have fun. By the way, my computer crashed and we spent a month trying to retrieve any data that we could from it, but with no avail. It still operates, however, which is a start. I may not be able to update this in a while since chapter 15 for Hanging Haunted had been lost in the process and I'm trying to rewrite it. Plus, the new school year is approaching increasingly fast. I'm also selling my artwork at Louisianime. So BUSY~!

Anyway, I hope you can forgive me?

(Omigosh, my sister and I were watching Mushishi and in this one episode Ginko's like, "Yo, there's a mushi lodged up in this chick's nose," and then I was like, "Dude, just pick her nose…" and apparently that was thoroughly amusing to my sister. I dunno, I just thought I should mention it…)

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: Dates! Who new it was possible to be so completely embarrassed? By the way, Mai isn't going out with who you think she is!


	22. Dates

_**The Inconveniences of: Dates**_

Mai twiddled her fingers nervously as she waited at their table. It was a hot day, much to their misfortune, the summer sun pounding down onto the umbrella that hung just above their heads.

Lin was furious, for lack of a better word, and Naru was the cause. And although it didn't show upon his face, Mai new quite well how upset the Chinese man was. He had asked her to go get lunch with him, without Naru's permission and had even slammed the door behind him. He was far beyond furious, was all Mai could grasp.

Mai was brought out of her thoughts by a cup of coffee slamming down onto the table. She gasped in shock, trying to breathe normally once again. She looked up just as Lin sat down across from her. His face was impassive, but Mai new better.

"She said they would bring it over in a minute," he started, shoving the menu away from him. Mai nodded a little uncertainly, not wanting at all to be in her coworker's line of fire. However many cases Mai had been on, none were quite as dangerous as Lin when he was pissed, that was for sure.

Lin sighed, causing the small brunette to look over questioningly. "I'm truly sorry for dragging you into this, Mai-san. He's just so infuriating sometimes."

"Oh," Mai said in a '_believe me_' tone as she took a sip of her scolding coffee, "I know. I don't know why you don't blow up on him more often. I do it practically every day. It's hard _not_ to get pissed at that narcissistic bastard, you know?" she scoffed.

Lin nodded in agreement. He leaned his chin on his palm and sighed. Their frustration with Naru was one of the only things these two had in common. They made the best of it, though. Whenever Mai was pissed beyond belief at Naru, Lin was the one to keep her in check, and whenever Lin was furious at Naru for whatever reason, Mai was there for him to get revenge with. That seemed to be the highlight of their relationship.

Mai sighed. "Are you sure this is going to make him mad, Lin-san? I mean, sure, he'll be ticked for a while since I won't be there to make him his tea, but that's seriously it. It's not like he's going to storm down here and snatch me away or anything–" she paused, smiling politely at the waitress that set their lunch down on the table, "right?"

Lin watched the waitress as she skipped off into the small cafe. He looked back at his coworker and gave her a little smirk. "You'd be surprised."

With a curious eyebrow raised, Mai sighed and let her gaze travel to the pavement, "Really?"

"Mai? Lin?" Suddenly, an all too familiar voice interrupted her thoughts and Mai glanced around in surprise. Lin also raised his head questioningly.

Bou-san, Ayako, and John stared at them wide-eyed from across the street. And, to the couple's displeasure, they could've sworn the words coming out of the monk's mouth next were, 'Mai and Lin are on a date?'

"Oh, god," Mai swore, a scowl forming onto her face. She did a mental facepalm as Bou-san hurriedly dragged the red-headed miko and the priest across the street as soon as the way was clear of cars. The small brunette groaned, but Lin managed to remain impassive as the three approached them.

Ayako was the first to speak, "Since when have you two been…involved in a romantic relationship?" she inquired, her face strewn in a look of clear confusion. The monk beside her nodded vigorously. John was the only one not to assume anything by the two of the being together in such a date-like surrounding.

"They haven't even said anything about being together yet! Just let them speak," he said, motion towards the two.

Mai opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, not knowing if she should. She glanced over towards her 'partner in crime', her brows furrowed in a look of irritation. She didn't know if Lin wanted to confirm or deny (he would only confirm to piss Naru off, of course) their claim. But Lin wasn't that cruel.

"We're just out getting lunch," he said simply and shrugged. Mai turned back towards the three, smiled, and nodded. Technically it was the truth, and they were only doing it to piss off their boss. There was no need to get worked up over it, she decided.

Bou-san and Ayako weren't so trustworthy and seemed not to believe their claim, but John just smiled and bobbed his head in…what seemed to Mai like relief? Why would a relationship between her and Lin be such a problem? Not that she liked the Chinese man, although he was quite handsome.

"Where are you guys off to?" Mai inquired. She wasn't used to seeing the three together outside of work. Lin sent her a small glare, not pleased that she started a conversation with them, but the brunette ignored his fierce gaze.

"Oh, we were off to visit you at the office. Looks like you two were having a little fun time on your own, though," Bou-san said humorously, laughing through clenched teeth. Mai was like a younger sister to him, and he sure as hell did not approve of her going on dates during work.

"We already told you once," Mai started, as if reading his mind, "It's not a date. We're just on lunch break."

Ayako snorted in disbelief, folding her arms across her chest. Lin then glared at the miko.

"Mai."

A new voice came and John hastily made way for the source of it. Naru stood, in all of his glory, clad in black despite the hot weather. He looked ready to murder. His face was screwed into a look of disappointment and shame. He accosted Mai angrily by the arm like a father would his disobedient child and turned to his other assistant with a menacing glare. Lin smiled back and watched as he dragged Mai along back to the office, meanwhile said girl attempted to pull away, clearly embarrassed. People stared in curiosity.

Payback's a bitch, Naru.

...

Haha! Okay, so I spent forever writing this, I know. I'm truly sorry for the wait. I've had a serious case of writer's block for the past week and it's been killing me! I hope you guys liked it! And thank you for the amazing reviews! I'm grateful for all of them!

By the way, I'm thinking of writing a new fanfiction. What do you think? ;)

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: shaved ice! In which Mai incidentally cools Naru off.


	23. Shaved Ice

_**The Inconveniences of: Shaved Ice**_

How was it possible that he air conditioning unit of the building just _happened_ to break on the hottest day of the year? Why did God smite her?

Mai moaned in frustration. Even though it was her day off, she couldn't enjoy it. Instead, the petite brunette was still cooped up in the hot office doing homework. She sprawled out across the couch with a sigh. She needed something to cool her down, and she needed it now.

Just then, Yasuhara and Bou-san entered the office, waking Mai from her thoughts. She looked up. Why on earth were they at the office today? They didn't have a case or anything, did they? No way, Naru definitely would've reminded her and gotten her up early, like usual. That's when Mai realized what they were holding. She sat up, not caring that her hair was a static mess.

"What the hell is that?" she inquired, her voice dangerously low. Sweat rolled down her neck, behind the collar of her shirt.

Bou-san laughed and closed the door to the office behind him. "It's called shaved ice, Mai. It's good on a hot summer day like today. _Speaking _of which, why the hell is it over boiling temperature in this god-forsaken building?"

"AC unit broke," she said simply, eyeing the cup of ice in his hand.

"Man, that sucks for you. Too bad you don't have anything like this to cool you off," Yasuhara taunted, a smile playing upon his face. Sure, it was a cup of ice with a single drop of flavored syrup in it, but it was hot, and such a simple thing would make anyone drool at the sight.

"That's cruel Shonen! It's not nice to torture people." Mai glared and nodded at the laughing college student. "Here, you can have the rest of mine, Jou-chan."

Mai looked at the monk with wide eyes and smiled brightly, taking the styrofoam cup from his hands with a small 'thanks'.

The door to Naru's office opened with a creek, and Mai turned around excitedly. Naru came out, his clothes wet with perspiration. He brushed some loose strands of hair from his face and sighed. "How many times have I told you that my office is not a–"

Interrupting Naru, Mai held up the cup of shaved ice she smiled. "Ne, Naru, if you eat some of this it'll cool you off, what do you say?" she inquired running up to him. Her foot, however, unexpectedly caught on a bump in the rug and she tripped, landing clumsily on top of her boss, the shaved ice she had previously held landing in between the two.

Naru landed on the ground, his assistant on top of him. He glared at the two intruders who soon scurried out of the office and left them alone. Mai cried silently into his chest and mentally cursed at herself for being such a clutz.

"My shaved ice," she whined, burying her face further into his shirt soaked with the remains of the icy treat.

Naru, who was much more that thoroughly embarrassed, just continued to pat her back, praying to god Lin wouldn't leave his room and find them in such a compromising position. After a while, she calmed down, her tears coming to a halt. "If you wanted it that bad, I'll go with you to get some more if you want."

"No," she said, her voice muffled by his shirt, "it's fine."

A vein popped in Naru's forehead. 'Then why the hell did you cry over it so much,' he thought angrily. On his face only a frown decided to show itself. "Then clean yourself up and get back to your school work," he said sternly.

"But," she started, "I'll get my papers all wet and my teachers won't accept them…"

Naru looked down to see the brunette's shirt completely soaked through. He could even see her navy blue bra…

Blushing, he looked down to see himself. His black button up shirt stuck like glue to his chest. Mai was right. If he were to go on doing paperwork, there was no way could avoid getting the paper soaked. He sighed.

"Let's go home and change. On the way back, we'll get some shaved ice."

...

Wow. I'm a loser, I know.

By the way, I'm not much of a LinxMai supporter, either. Naru and Mai all the way! By the way, **Mai**, I just thought that after all the crap those two (Lin and Mai) have been through together, they'd at least be on a first name basis (just my thinking, though). And this is, like, almost two years after the series and manga start, so yeah…

**New fan fiction:** Mai is invited on a weeklong vacation to Okinawa, and with no parents in the way to tell her no, of course Mai accepts! Naru decides to give her a much deserved break, seeing as she's been so stressed lately. Meanwhile Naru and Company are on their way to investigate a haunted vacation house in Okinawa during the same week! Dun dun DUN!

Hahaha! I've started writing it already. :)

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: cell phones. In which Naru worries!


	24. Cell Phones

_**The Inconveniences of: Cell Phones**_

Naru cursed silently, slamming his phone shut in anger. He calmed himself before he could do something reckless like running around aimlessly outside to find her.

Why the hell wasn't that woman answering her god-forsaken cell phone? They had just bought it, it was new! There should be nothing wrong with it. It was probably dead, unbeknownst to her. Honestly, why did he help Mai pay her phone bills when she never charged the damn thing?

He cursed again, and began pacing as if he wanted to put a hole in his floor. The only reason Naru had even considered letting her leave the condo was because she claimed she'd be back in time to help him fix dinner 'sometime around eight'. Apparently Mai didn't realize that 10 o' clock was _two hours_ after 8!

Naru paused after hearing a familiar noise. It was raining? He glanced quickly out of the window. It _was_ raining. First he had been worried about Mai walking home after dark alone, and now it was raining. Poor Mai was walking home in the–

No, Mai deserved this after clearly disregarding his 'home before dinner' rule and staying out late. It might be a little strict, but it was true. However, despite how mad he was at her, Naru could help but feel concerned.

If only that fool would be obedient for once in her life and come home when he asked her to. Was that so much to ask?

He heard a thud at the door and froze. Was Mai home? He hurried to the door and opened it only to have said girl fall on top of him in a drunken stupor. She dropped her purse on the ground. Her wet clothed soaked the whole front of his shirt. He was shocked as he smelled alcohol on her breath. What on earth had she been doing?

"Naru," she said, hiccupping, "I'm sorry~! I promise…it won't happen again."

Naru lifted her into his arms and carried her bridal style into the bathroom so that she wouldn't get any of the furniture wet. He set her down carefully into the tub, making sure she wouldn't bump her head in any way. "You're drunk," he said angrily. Mai flinched.

"I know. I don't…know how it happened, but they may have spiked the drinks. I guess…" she sighed, curling up into a ball. She must be cold, Naru figured.

"I'll turn on some hot water for you to soak in," he said, leaving no room for argument as he turned on the faucet. Of course, Mai, not noting how pissed he was and who didn't quite hear the warning in his voice, began to talk back.

"My clothes," she whined, "My clothes will get wet! Ouch!" She recoiled against the steaming water that was already filling the wide tub.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Naru said apologetically, although he was being quite sarcastic, turned the cold water faucet clockwise, waiting for the water to cool off before he stuck his hand under it. "Bear with me, okay?"

Mai grumbled watching as the water slowly rose past her feet. "I didn't know, Naru. I'm sorry. I should've called. My phone was dead, though."

Naru sighed, hitting her lightly on the head as punishment for neglecting to charge her phone. "You don't think that I already realized that. You never charge your phone, idiot. I'll stop paying phone bills," he threatened, earning a cry from Mai.

"I'm sorry! As soon as I sober up I'll charge it, I swear," she whined, wrapping wet arms around her boss's neck in an attempt to make him reconsider. He scowled at her for the unpleasant contact as he felt water drip slowly down his back, but he was going to have to change his shirt anyway. It was the second time that week that she had drenched him.

"I hope you know I'm never trusting you to go to parties on your own ever again."

…

Oh, my, GOD. Tomorrow is my last day of freedom until I have to go to school again! Nooooo~! That means less updates for you lovely folks. But keep reviewing, please. They make me smile and write faster. By the way, this fanfiction has the most reviews I've ever gotten! Yay for 262 reviews!

(Thank you for the suggestion, **FallenRaindrops**! I'll make sure to put it in.)

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: rumors! Mai is dating someone?


	25. Rumors

_**The Inconveniences of: Rumors**_

Blush tinted the brunette's cheeks. "W–What are you talking about?" she inquired, truly curious.

"You know what we're talking about, Mai!" Keiko said angrily, slamming her palm down onto the desk for an added effect as if they were going through with some serious-business interrogation. Mai flinched, leaning back in her chair as she listened to her friends rant. "You got Kahaya Yoshiaki-sempai's number the other night and there are rumors going around that you two have already 'done the deed'!"

Is that why she had felt everyone's disapproving gazes on her back?

Mai blanched, nearly choking on her own saliva, and froze in her seat. She had been completely stoned during the _entire_ party and had no recollection whatsoever of any guy named Yoshiaki or even 'doing the deed'. Now that they mention it, her period was a bit late. "I–I…" she stuttered, not able to find the words to express her horror.

"Oh, Mai," Michiru started, her hands rubbing Mai's shoulders in what was supposed to be a sort of comforting manner. "Please tell us this isn't true…"

But Mai couldn't deny the claims. She honestly couldn't remember that night at all, save for when she got home to an extremely POed Naru. She stood suddenly, escaping from the little barricade her friends had formed, and jogged hastily out of the door. "I have to go," she yelled back to them.

The called after her, telling her that class was about to start, but Mai refused to turn around. "Excuse me," she stopped someone in the hall, bowing politely, "Can you tell me where I might find a boy by the name of Kahaya Yoshiaki? I believe he's a third year."

After extracting the information, she made her way to the class room he was supposedly in. She slammed the door open in a rage, not caring that she was way out of her league, crowded around by a ton of third years. "Kahaya Yoshiaki-sempai," she called out.

Everything immediately silenced, until a boy, who was surprisingly tall and clearly very intimidating, raised his hand, a smirk prominent on his face. "That's me, Taniyama-san," he replied smugly, hoping off of his desk. After making his way through a crowd of girls that had surrounded him, he stopped before the brunette standing in the door way.

Sure, she had seen him around the school before. He was very popular, always talking with younger girls or cutting class with his friends on the roof. And his conceited attitude pissed Mai off to no end. "I think we need to talk," she eyed the upperclassmen girls whispering about her and then turned back to the boy towering over her. "In private," she suggested further, seeing as how he didn't look like he was about comply with her wishes.

"Ah," he hummed, smirking further. Mai was guessing he had just twisted her words into something rather inappropriate. She scowled beckoning for him to follow her up to the roof. Of course, Mai was a _little_ worried he would try something now that they were alone, but she could deal…hopefully.

"Look," she started, turning to gaze at Yoshiaki spitefully once she knew they were alone.

"Oh, someone sounds peeved," he said playfully.

Mai was not in the least bit amused, however. "You spread those rumors about us, didn't you? Well, you need to sop them now. I can't have people staring at me everywhere I go, it…it's mortifying! Why would you spread something like that?"

"It's called popularity," Yoshiaki said with a big smile, circling around the smaller student almost as if he was going to eat her alive, "Something I believe you have no knowledge about, dear Mai. And who ever said those were rumors? That night…you can't even remember, can you?"

She held her breath. "First off, I don't care about popularity. There's no need for it, really. And second off, tell me what really happened."

He chuckled, reaching out to grab a lock of Mai's brown hair, but she pulled away from him. The scowl upon her face deepened as he attempted in making bodily contact, which she was not quite ready for after hearing those rumors. Which they were; they had to be. There's no way. She was only 17 years old, for heaven's sake!

"So we didn't really do it," he admitted, his blonde hair blown by a strong breeze, "but we definitely could have. I mean, you were totally stoned. You wouldn't have been able to fight me off."

"How dare you even think something like that," Mai howled, throwing her fist at him and striking his cheek. He was a little surprised, but captured her wrist to prevent any future attempts. He twisted it into a very painful position, and Mai cried out, unaware at the tears forming in her eyes.

"Mai," she heard her voice being called by a familiar voice, and turned in the direction it was in, letting the tears that stung her eyes fall freely. It was Naru to the rescue, holding her bento that she must've forgotten at home.

"Naru," she cried, pulling away from Yoshiaki as if she had done something shameful although it was excruciatingly painful on her part. Naru's eyes narrowed dangerously and he stepped in front of her as though he were a knight in shining armor. Mai buried her face into his back and sniffed. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Naru."

"I suggest you go to class," Naru told the taller boy, his gaze never wavering. He wasn't scared. Hell, he could kick this guy's sorry ass to next Tuesday! He should, for hurting Mai, but he wouldn't. Naru knew that it would only make his assistant more upset than she already was. "The bell already rang."

Yoshiaki didn't argue, much to Mai's surprise. Instead, he raised his hands in a white flag gesture. "You win, Mai. I'll stop the rumors." And with that, he left.

What the hell was that? You think the guy would put up more of a fight. But he…just gave up? (But she hadn't seen the horribly threatening glare that Naru was giving him) Mai sighed in relief, slumping against the back of her savior.

"Mai," Naru's tone softened as he turned around just in time to catch her limp form. She was trembling, and usually it was an adorable sight, if the one who had caused her to do such was him, but since it was not, the sight just angered the narcissist. "What did he do to you?"

She shook her head and was incapable of answering him, so she just buried her tear streaked face into his black shirt. "I'm sorry."

He lifted her into his arms, and held her close to his chest. "I'll take you home."

…

Eh, gay chapter, protective Naru, random rumors. What else can I do! I fail, I know. So I hope you liked this really badly written chapter. Only 75 more to gooooo~! Are you prepared?

By the way, the 'Losing Keys' one is chapter 45. A long way to go, but I promise I'll update fast. Have a safe move** SnowSisters**!

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: bras! Let's just say it's a good day for Mai.


	26. Bras

_**The Inconveniences of: Bras**_

"Hey, Naru," Mai called from her room, knowing that her boss was in the living room following through with his morning ritual of drinking tea and watching the News. He lowered the volume and called back.

"What?" In his voices hinted tones of frustration, but Mai brushed it off.

"I was wondering if you could drive me to the mall, seeing as I don't have my driver's license yet…" Mai waited for his reply, but did not receive a response as she had hoped. Not even a grunt of annoyance. She sighed, "Please, Naru?"

Naru sighed as well. "Why on earth do you want to go to the mall so early in the morning?" he inquired, turning up the television so that he could not hear her reply. He really was not in the mood to drive. He was barely awake, for that matter. I mean, who wouldn't be after staying up until 4 in the morning?

"I need new clothes, if you haven't noticed," Mai stomped out of her room, flaunting off a pair of worn jeans as proof, "Plus I need a new…" she paused, reconsidering what she had been about to say. Would it be awkward to tell your boss/land lord you needed a new bra?

Her silence peeked the 18 year old's interest and he turned to see his assistant. She was right; she needed new clothes…not that he didn't like the outfit she was wearing, just that he had seen it nearly three times that week (Mai does laundry vigorously). "A new what?"

Blushing to the tips of her ears, Mai shook her head. "It's nothing. You wouldn't be interested anyway!"

Naru smirked, "Oh, but I am."

Mai's eyes widened. If she told him he certainly would find it uncomfortable, she knew it. "Oh trust me, you _really_ wouldn't be interested."

"No, I'm pretty sure I would be," he said, not letting go of the subject.

Argh! _Fine._

"I need a new bra! I grew a cup size, okay?" she nearly screamed. Her face, at that point, had gone completely red. Naru was taken aback by her outburst and the two just sat, staring at each other for the longest time.

"That's all I wanted to know. I'll take you later on in the day."

Too embarrassed to say anything back to her boss, she turned and stalked off to her room.

After he was sure she had slammed (and successfully locked) her door, Naru turned back to face the T.V. and sighed, blushing red at the thought of his assistant's bras and began to wonder what cup size she actually was.

What was she doing to him?

…

Holy Jesus, you guys. I'm so sorry. I know I was like 'Sure, I'll update, like, once a week' and now it's been two months! I'm super duper sorry! But I finally have a free weekend and I'm itching to write, so here another chapter is.

Thanks lots for all of your uber amazing reviews and ideas. I'll be sure to try and incorporate many as possible. :)

Oh geez, Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: truth or dare! Which one will Mai choose?


	27. Truth or Dare

_Hip, hip, hooray for 300 reviews!_

_**The Inconveniences of: Truth or Dare?**_

He could hear them clearly though the thin walls of his condo, loud and clear; their hysterical laughter, their embarrassed squeals, even their gasps of disbelief – _everything_. What the hell were they doing, anyway?

The noise was almost too much for him to bear.

Scratch that. It was _way_ too much for him to bear.

All sounds stopped as Mai, Ayako, and Madoka turned to look at the sleep-deprived teenager. Naru blinked slowly, not even noticing he had stepped out of his room (slamming his door open as he did so). Mai smiled at the recluse as he stepped from his room's threshold.

"Naru, come play with us!" she said, bouncing up and down excitedly. Her hair stuck to her cheeks and was wet due to the fact that she had washed it earlier. It probably smelled nice too…

What the hell was he thinking?

Naru shook his head. "What are you still doing up? It'll almost three in the morning. Go to bed already," he said, running a hand through his messy hair.

Ayako made a sort of 'pshh' noise and Madoka smiled. Naru glared at them and held back from flicking them off in his assistant's presence. Mai's facial expression showed a look of revelation. "Oh," she whispered silently, "I just remembered that guys don't do sleepovers."

Naru made a face. Of course he didn't 'do' sleepovers. How ridiculous Mai was to even.._suggest_ such a thing. What did girls _do_ during sleepovers, anyhow? "What on earth could possibly be so entertaining that it would keep you up so late?" he inquired.

"Truth or dare!"

Naru was confused by Madoka's enthusiasm. He had heard of the game, but had never taken the time to actually consider the point of it. "Truth or what?"

Mai looked at him incredulously, but remembered again that he was a guy (not only that, but he was Naru). "You know," she started, "Someone asks you truth or dare, you pick, and then…you know…"

Naru nodded in understanding, though he chuckled under his breath at Mai's obvious lack of adequate explanation skills. "I see," he said, cutting off her flow of thoughts.

"So…?" Ayako looked at him expectantly leaning back on her elbows, her pajama's raising up to reveal her midriff. Naru took that time to focus on Mai's bubbly expression.

"'So' what?"

Madoka interrupted the red-head hurriedly, "Are you going to play with us or not? You really should pay attention to these things, Noll. How unsightly of you to ignore Mai's question," she ridiculed him with a grin, predicting the horridly smug look on his face minutes earlier.

"Of course not," the narcissist scoffed, waving them off as if they were annoying flies. "_That_ would be unsightly."

Mai grinned

…

'_How was I dragged into this mess?'_

"Naru~" Madoka chided shifting most of her body weight onto her former protégé. The blue-eyed teenager sighed in discontent, shying away from his assistant's sympathetic smile though she didn't seem to notice. Mai hadn't meant for Naru to be so miserable; she only wanted him to let loose and have a little fun.

"What~?" he mocked with false sweetness in his voice, a forced smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Truth or dare?"

He considered his choices, wandering what she would ask him if he picked truth and what she would tell him to do if he picked dare. Both of them, he assumed, would seem to deal with Mai. "Truth," he said.

Madoka grinned wide, "Too chicken to choose dare, Naru?"

The narcissist couldn't help but glare. "You asked me truth or dare and I gave you my answer. Now ask your question already."

"Hmm. Is it true that you like Mai?"

Ayako and Mai both choked on their own spit. Mai stood up as if it were a reflex. "Naru, you really don't have to answer that, you know," she said hurriedly, not really wanting to hear his reply. What if he said no?

Naru waved off her worry and answered after a moment of silence. "Of course I like Mai," he stated as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

Madoka nearly jumped from her sitting position on the living room floor. Ayako sat silently, her eyes wide with shock. Mai's breath hitched, a hot blush creeping upon her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say something when Naru interrupted.

"If I didn't like her, than I would have fired her already."

Ouch.

...

Well that had really put on damper on her mood.

Mai looked over at the clock after rubbing her tired eyes. It was just after 4 o'clock and Madoka and Ayako had finally fallen asleep. Mai, however, had a feeling she wasn't going to sleep a wink that night.

She couldn't get what Naru said out of her head. Of course she was aware that Naru didn't _like_ her like that, but…

She sighed, reaching into the sink and pulling out a dirty glass. After thoroughly rinsing it, she wiped it off with a clean rag and filled it with water.

'Maybe this will help clear my mind,' she thought, taking a huge swig.

"Mai?" a deep voice sounded behind her, causing her to choke. She swung around quickly, relieved that it was just her boss, and nothing more. After few minutes, Mai recovered from her coughing fit and turned away from Naru, slightly embarrassed.

"You scared the living daylights out of me," she rasped, laughing a little as she help her now sore throat.

Naru gave her a look. "I see. I'm…sorry."

A moment of labored silence passed. Mai realized that things were getting pretty awkward, so she decided to take her leave. "Well, I'm off to bed."

"Wait," he called out, grabbing her by the arm. A bit of water splashed out of her glass, spilling on Naru's shirt and Mai gasped a little in surprise.

"Oh crap," she started a scowl forming. She took the rag she had used to clean the cup with and dabbed it on his night shirt, which just seemed to make the watermark larger. "I'm sorry, I'll clean it up–"

"Mai, listen," he said, taking her hand in his to stop her movement. As he expected, his assistant froze. "About what I said earlier, I…It's not like that…I actually really li–"

"Ughh," Ayako came into the dark kitchen, dragging her bare feet on the tiled floor and rubbing her eyes. Mai and Naru each pulled away as if the other were on fire. Ayako looked at them both strangely as she turned on the lights.

"I was going to ask what all the commotion was, but I think I get the picture."

* * *

AGINUVFHDFCLMGH!

Oh my gosh, I've been sick for nearly two weeks. Since I stayed home from school today, I've been writing. BTW, I'm working on a book, by the way. How does the Russian Mafia sound to you? ;)

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: Being Sick. Inspired by _moi_ (actually it's just a coincidence that it was next on the list).


	28. Being Sick

_**The Inconveniences of: Being Sick**_

Mai hated being sick, _especially_ with laryngitis. Naru had explained it to her as the inflammation of her larynx from overuse, irritation or infection. That was when she had caught it from Bou-san nearly a week ago. She wasn't so sure what she had caught from him was laryngitis anymore, perhaps a vicious mutation of it that stays in your system for a longer period of time.

Whichever one it was, Mai felt like utter shit. Takigawa Houshou would rue the day he got her sick.

However, despite the fact that she could barely talk and had a slight fever, Mai continued to go to school. She didn't want to start missing and then have a lot of crap to make up like when work got busy at SPR. It would be too stressful for her.

This went on for a week until Naru finally forced her to stay home that Friday a get a good day's rest, which it seems was really needed seeing as she slept through the whole next day (well, until 4 in the afternoon anyway).

Naru had even forbid her from talking – at all. He wouldn't let a word escape her lips. Every time she would even try to speak, he would glare at her. Mai thought this made a nice game to piss off her boss, but that was until he threatened to deduct her pay.

But he stayed with her most of the time, bringing his paperwork from the office and doing it in the living room. He'd come into her room to check on her often and ignored calls from Lin to give her a comforting pat on the back after a coughing fit. He also brought her meals whenever he checked on her (since he didn't want her speaking of getting out of bed).

And what did Mai do cooped up in her room all day?

Nothing.

Being sick with Naru in the household was the worst thing that could possibly ever happen to you. He didn't let you do anything and was more like a crazed mother than that of a worried friend. But it tickled Mai, the little things that he did for her, like how'd he'd fluff her pillow, or make sure to keep quiet when he was on the phone with Lin (even though she could still hear).

Mai wondered if he was only doing so to her because that's how his parents dealt with him when he was sick in bed? He must've been a lucky child to have such nice parents like Martin and Luella. Or maybe he was treating her like such a doll because he knows she's never really been 'pampered' before.

Just then, her door creaked open and Naru entered her room with a bowl of steaming soup for her. Sitting up, she reached for the hot bowl and set it in her lap, fanning it in hopes that it would cool off sooner.

"Mai," he said, sitting on the side of her bed and looking at her as if waiting for something to happen. Mai looked up, slightly surprised that he wasn't leaving. Oh geez, he wasn't going to give her some sort of 'talk,' was he?

"I'm only doing this for your own good…"

_'Oh, how could you tell I was so frustrated with you?'_ Mai though to herself sarcastically, giving him a deadpanning look.

Naru rolled his eyes and replied as if he had read her mind, "You glare at me every time I walk into your room. I know you're obviously upset, but…understand that taking a day off from school was the best thing for your health."

Mai rolled her eyes back at him.

"Haven't we already had this stupid talk?" she inquired, ignoring the deep rasp in her voice. He was probably deducting a week's pay of her salary at the moment, but she went on, "I don't need you to baby me, you know."

He was glaring at her fiercely, "You're never going to get better if you keep abusing your voice, Mai."

"Fine, I'll be obedient," Mai said in a low voice pouting at her boss as she folded her arms defiantly across her chest.

"I hate being sick."

* * *

Ugh, I'm so sorry. I know I say all of my chapters are crap, but this one surely takes the cake. Thank you for all of your inspiring reviews and comments. I take all of them to heart. If you have any suggestions or concerns, please let me know. (Ha-ha, I was planning to have Naru get sick in one chapter!)

Next time on _The Inconveniences_…the inconveniences of: WORK! Bleh. Mai has too much filing to do. There is fluff, I think? :)


	29. Work

_**The Inconveniences of: Work**_

Mai sighed as she stood from her seat at the small wooden desk. Some tea would be nice right about now. She could take a break for that, right?

After being sick for a couple of days (and of course Naru wouldn't let her go to work because of it), her paperwork sure had piled up. And Mai being, well, Mai, was not one to be seated for long periods of time.

The whistle of the kettle brought Mai from her thoughts, and a few seconds later, Naru from his office. He walked into the kitchenette leaning against the door frame just as Mai had done brewing the tea. "Here you are," she said, handing him his tea.

"That paperwork's not going to file itself, you know?" Naru inquired, taking a sip of his drink as a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Mai glared at him. "_You know_, I wouldn't have so much work to do if it weren't for you. I was perfectly capable of filing when I was sick. And now I have all this paperwork on top of a whole bunch of homework, thanks to you."

Mai was sure she had shot her boss the most threatening look she could manage, but for some reason, Naru's smirk had just transitioned into a full blown grin. Okay, she was definitely confused now.

Her cheeks turned red in frustration and confusion. Why on earth was he laughing at her? She suddenly felt very self conscious under his watchful gaze. "I-Is there something on my face?"

"No, no," he reassured her with a laugh, taking another sip of his tea.

"Well, then, what are you laughing at?"

Calming himself, Naru shook his head. "Nothing. Now get back to work, I don't pay you to slack off." Naru reached the door and turned around, smiling at his assistant before he said something truly troubling, "Pink today, huh?"

It wasn't until Naru had retreated back into his office that Mai had a clue as to what he was talking about. Breaking out into a nervous sweat, the brunette reached around, rubbing where her skirt should've been.

Instead of the fabric of her school skirt, which Mai had expected to find, she felt the soft cotton of the pink underwear she had chosen to wear that day.

Nononononononono.

Her skirt had been lifted up from being squished in between her back and the back of her chair for the past two hours. Mai hurriedly smoothed it down, her face burning bright red.

How had she not realized? She should've felt a breeze or something, right? She had been too preoccupied with filing and school work–

This was all Naru's fault.

"_NARU!_"

* * *

Yay! Cheers to the first update in...a year and a half! Woooo!

So anyway, once again, I've lost my list of prompts for this fanfiction, so reviews and suggestions on what to do for future chapters would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you for your time and sorry for the inconvenience (no pun intended)!

_Braceyourselves_

Next chapter: Memories


	30. Memories

_**The Inconveniences: Memories**_

"_Daddy!" A smaller version of Mai sobbed as she gripped her mother's ruffled dress. "Where did daddy go! Why won't you tell me?"_

_Mai's mother rested her head in her hands, turning away from the relentless child and leaning back in the bright white hospital chair. She couldn't bear the thought of telling the young girl what had just happened. That her father, the person whom Mai looked up to more than anyone else, had just passed away. _

_That she would never see him smile again. _

_That she would never spend another day out fishing with him. _

_That he would never threaten to kill her boyfriend if he made her cry._

_That he would never walk her down the aisle on her wedding day like they had planned._

_Mai continued, pulling even harder, not bothering to wipe the tears and snot from her face. "Mommy, why is daddy all red? Why won't he speak to me?"_

"_Mai, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."_

* * *

A sob.

That's what woke him up after he had just fallen asleep.

Naru looked over at the digital clock on his bedside table, reading the red numbers carefully. It was close to being 2 in the morning, he realized with a sigh. This frustrated him, since he had a whole bunch of work to finish up today and he was planning on getting a head start by waking up early.

Naru listened closely, his heart rate suddenly pounding in his ears and impairing his hearing. He had definitely heard a sob. If that's even what it was. It had been so quiet he could barely–

_There it was again!_

Wait – Did this mean…was Mai crying? Well, she did happen to be the only other person in the house.

This presented another problem, because there was no way in hell he could go to sleep if Mai was crying in the next room over.

Shit.

* * *

_Mai was just about finished with junior high when it happened._

_Her mother had something, and although whatever illness she had was unknown at the time, it managed to put her in the hospital._

_She had been there for a few weeks – to run some tests and whatnot. Mai was highly upset by this, having to come home to an empty apartment, but didn't let her disdain show and visited her mother religiously after school. She told her about school that day, what homework she had to do that night, what she was going to make herself for dinner._

_The doctors told Mai that there was hope; her mother's condition was improving little by little. Mai had been so excited by this news that the next day she went to go buy roses before she made her usual trip to the hospital._

_However, the doctors regrettably informed Mai when she arrived that her mother passed away while she was at school._

"_How could this happen? You said her condition was improving!" she remembered yelling to the doctor in charge of her mother's recovery. She did this as she threw down the bouquet of pink roses onto the tiled floors. "You told me she was going to live!"_

_She chose the pink roses because they meant elegance, a word which reminded Mai of her mother. Elegance in all of her actions – as she made her own special brews of tea, as she danced by herself whenever a good song came on the radio, as she laughed, as she cried, as she read books…_

_She was supposed to help her with boy problems. She was supposed to watch her graduate. She was supposed to support her in everything she did._

_She was supposed to be alive._

* * *

Mai jumped at the hand on her shoulder. She looked up from the pillow her face had previously been stuffed in to see her boss gazing down at her with tired eyes. She must've been so caught up in things that she hadn't even heard him come in.

Mai knew that she had woken him, but when she went to apologize all that seemed to come out were more sobs. They were loud and strained, so Mai covered her mouth to muffle them.

Naru sat next to her, pulling the pillow out of her reach and bringing her into his arms.

That night, they fell asleep peacefully together on Mai's bed.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Steadily updating is fun. Anyway, more ideas please? Everything is much appreciated. :)**

**Next chapter: Dirty laundry**


	31. Laundry

_**The Inconveniences of: Laundry**_

Naru sighed as he stripped of his dirty button-down shirt and threw it into the dirty clothes bin in his room. He noticed as he did so that the hamper was now full seeing as he hadn't washed anything in a week. Frowning, he picked it up and made a trip to the utility room where the washer and dryer sat side by side.

Unfortunately he opened the washer to see, not his usual load of darks, but instead Mai's brights and whites and everything in between.

Seriously? Didn't she separate her colors?

No, no, no! That wasn't the problem at hand. The problem was that Mai's clothes were currently preventing him from doing his much needed laundry. And Mai was at her friend…what was her name again? Keiko! She was at Keiko's house.

Naru huffed as he began to haul Mai's clothes from the washer, throwing them haphazardly into the dryer. After all, he saw no other way to do his laundry. Besides, what could possibly–

A plush material in his hands stopped him

A bra.

Naru's heart stopped as he picked up the item. It was pink with white lace frilling at the edges. And, boy, was it _padded_. Naru pressed the soft material between fingers, almost snorting at how thick the padding was.

His heart froze for the second time that day as he heard the front door open and close. Mai's melodic voice filled the condo as she called out to him. "Honey, I'm hooooooome!"

Naru threw her pink frilly bra into the dryer, quickly closing the door and starting the machine.

Just then Mai's head popped into the room. She blinked at him. "I didn't know you were doing laundry today. I would've finished up my load before I left, Naru." Now she stood fully in the doorway, hands on her hips.

Naru new he shouldn't, but for some reason he couldn't focus on her face. Instead his eyes were trained on her chest.

He shrugged, turning to hide the big smile that was relentlessly tugging at his mouth. "I got it under control."

"Yeah, okay." Mai looked back at him suspiciously.

* * *

**LOL. I hope Naru wasn't too OOC. Anyway, I'm sorry this is so short (they seem to be getting shorter and shorter!) and that it took forever for me to update, BUT! In exchange for the inconvenience (no pun intended) of that, I'm updating the next chapter today as well!**

**Up next:** _**The Inconveniences of Sleeping on the Couch**_


	32. Sleeping on the Couch

_**The Inconveniences of: Sleeping on the Couch**_

Mai smiled as she poured tea for the two of them. Naru had had a long day, what with some crazy clientele threatening to sue and all. Of course, Naru was right about there being to spiritual activity in their house; all of the claims were validated through creaking doors and floorboards. Nonetheless, they were quite persistent.

Right now, Naru probably needed this tea more than anything. The brunette couldn't help but blush at how much she felt like a doting wife.

Mai carried the tea into the living room on a tray, setting it down on the small coffee table. She looked over to Naru, finding his eyes closed and his posture relaxed. But surely he hadn't fallen asleep in the two seconds she was gone?

She shook his shoulder gently, calling his name.

His hand came up to grab her wrist, and she stilled. "N-Naru?"

"Mai," he whispered quietly, however, his eyes still closed. She heard him inhale sharply, but no other words came from him. Taking her hand from his grasp, she laid his arm at his side.

He must me dreaming or something.

* * *

They finally got home around 7 o'clock. When she turned on the T.V. Mai found that one of her favorite movies was on; of course it had to be some ridiculous chic-flick. She forced him to watch it with her, claiming that it would relax him and that if she weren't around he'd go straight to doing work like usual.

Mai got up during the commercial to go make tea. Naru leaned back into the soft leather couch, tuning out the noise and closing his tired eyes. The day had been absolutely exhausting.

Mai came back just as the commercial break was ending. She set the tea tray on the coffee table between the couch and the T.V. and, although he had his eyes closed, Naru could tell that her brown ones were focused on him.

She called his name in a whisper, shaking his shoulder gently to see if he were asleep.

No matter how hard he tried, Naru could not seem to bring himself to open them. Instead, he took hold of her wrist. "Mai."

He went to say something else. What? He really had no clue what he had been about to say, but whatever it was, it escaped him.

She rested Naru's arm at his side, thinking nothing more of the incident.

But now that she was under the pretense that he was asleep, it's not like he could magically sit up and drink her tea. Damn it.

* * *

"So what were you dreaming about last night?" Mai inquired the next morning as she toasted some bread across the kitchenette from him.

Naru looked up from his own toast. "It was just a silly nightmare." He shrugged, mentally smiling at her worried face.

"Oh, a nightmare?" she repeated. "What was it about? Do…do you want to talk about it?"

Naru sighed, making sure his face remained nonchalant. "I had a nightmare that I was living with you. But then I woke up and realized that it wasn't just a dream."

Mai's face burned red just as the tea kettle whistled and her toast popped up. "No tea for you."

"I was just joking!"

* * *

**Cheers for fast updates!**

**Next chapter: **_**The Inconveniences of Donating Blood**_


	33. Donating Blood

_**The Inconveniences of: Donating Blood**_

"Mai."

"Naru, I'm scared!"

"Please let go."

"But Naru…"

"You're seriously cutting off the circulation to my fingers and they haven't even done anything yet. Would you calm down?" Naru said quietly, trying to flex his fingers and get the blood flow moving again. No matter what he did or said, Mai refused to relinquish her hold on his hand.

"I can't!" she said in frustrated as if her hand was physically glued to her boss's. "I've had really bad experiences with giving blood before. I'm just nervous."

Naru couldn't help but roll his eyes, "Then _why _are you giving blood?"

"Don't you know?" Mai inquired, loosening her grip a bit. "When you give blood, you're saving three lives! Plus, I've already done the interview and physical."

"Looks like you're very well informed," a nurse said as she approached. She was young and fairly short. Mai wasn't even so sure she was old enough to be qualified to take her blood. The girl was too distracted by Naru's good looks; it put Mai on edge.

After cleansing the area Mai's arm with alcohol, the short nurse inserted a needle, which she had to assure Mai was sterile, for the blood draw. Naru felt something crack, no doubt it had been just one of his fingers popping, but it had scared him regardless.

The needle must've made Mai uncomfortable because she began to squirm on top of the sterilized bed and grip his hand tighter. Naru managed to make it out of the blood mobile with his hand still intact, however.

They made their way over to the refreshments table where Naru made her sit and eat at least three donuts. After half of the third one had disappeared, Mai began to complain that she was full and that because of _him,_ she was going to get fat.

She needed to gain some weight, anyway. Skin and bones wasn't all that attractive to him.

"Now, what was so bad about that, Mai?" Naru inquired, happy to have proven her wrong about her 'bad experiences.' "Can you honestly say that there was any reason to squeeze my hand so tightly?"

Mai looked at him skeptically as they walked down the street, folding her arms. "We still have the rest of the day to find out, don't we?"

Naru shrugged. "Just take the necessary precautions you usually do after donating blood. Stay at home and rest, and no heavy weight lifting. What else?"

Mai looked at him stupidly. "How should I know?"

"The nurse didn't tell you anything about what you can and can't do after giving blood?" Naru sighed, shaking his head.

"I think she was too attracted to your good looks to pay attention to anything."

* * *

After a while (an hour or two) of playing intense video games, Mai decided to check what Naru was making for dinner. Although she was slightly upset to find out it was teriyaki (since she was in the mood for noodles), he had told her it was good for her health since she had just given blood.

She leaned against the counter, watching him diligently.

"…What?" he asked defensively after a moment of silence.

"Thanks," she replied, surprising him. "For coming today, I mean. I was really scared that something bad would happen. But I guess your good luck cancels out my bad luck."

Naru scoffed a little, avoiding her watchful gaze and focusing on the food he was preparing. "There wasn't much else I could really do, was there? You were being such a big baby about i–"

Mai slammed her hand onto the kitchen counter in anger. "What the – I try to be nice and this is what y…"

Naru looked up from the meal he was fixing, unnerved by the fact that Mai had suddenly stopped speaking. He noticed, when he did so, that her skin had become white like a sheet. "…Mai?"

"Na…ru." She swayed slightly, her eyes rolling back, before she made her way to the cold kitchen floor. Naru dropped the pan and spatula he had been holding before following her down. He kneeled at her level, resting his hand against her cheek only to feel that it was much cooler than Mai's rosy cheeks usually were.

"Damnit."

Locking one of his arms under her legs and circling the other around her back, the uncharacteristically nervous man carried his assistant princess style over to the living room couch before hurrying to get her something to drink. He paused with his head stuck in the refrigerator.

With Mai all incapacitated, Naru's mind couldn't be any farther away. He couldn't even remember what was good to drink after blood donation! Then he remembered how Mai was complaining at the snack table how they didn't have orange juice. _'That's right! Fruity drinks. Anything with sugar.'_

He grabbed a box of apple juice (which Mai always loved to keep on hand), and not even a second later was he at the girl's side, sticking the straw into its proper hole before bringing it to her pale lips.

She turned away from it at first, but after a while of convincing, Mai opened her mouth to drink the sweet liquid. After a minute or two the girl seemed to return to her normal self. She had not only regained her normal color, but also her coherentness.

Naru sighed in relief. "Stay put. Dinner's probably burnt, but I'll call for takeout. Make sure to drink the rest of that juice, too."

As Naru walked away to get the phone and their list of regular takeout numbers, he heard Mai whisper.

"I _told_ you so."

* * *

Oh, look, Mai's right for once?

More importantly, I'm sorry it took so long! I must have forgotten this story (I seriously apologize)! I didn't realize I hadn't been updating until I got and email (because fanfiction sends me emails whenever my stories get alerted or reviewed) notifying me of a review saying that someone missed me (I almost cried)!

I literally opened Word that very second and started writing. (See how powerful review are?)

Anyway, I sincerely apologize! D:

Next up: The Inconveniences of School Plays! (I'll get this one out fast, I promise!)


	34. School Plays

_**The Inconveniences of: School Plays**_

"How many times are you going to be late until you realize how to read a clock, Mai?" Naru said, very on edge that morning from being deprived of tea for more than eight hours.

"I can read clocks just fine!" Mai countered as she hung her jacket on the coat rack just besides the door. Naru followed her into the kitchenette where she knew to start fixing tea immediately every time she came to work.

"Interesting," Naru mused. "Your school lets out at the perfect time for you to get to work and still keep punctuality. How is it then, that you always manage to come in late? Also, for the past few days you've been coming in later than usual…"

"I have a life, you know."

"–And I'm not talking by a few minutes, I'm talking about _hours_."

Mai tensed, standing rigidly over the stove as she waited for the kettle to whistle.

"I haven't said anything until now because you've been in such a foul mood lately, but its gotten way out of hand. You were _two hours and 37 minutes_ late to work today. Would you like to tell me what's interfering so much with your work schedule, Mai?"

"No," the brunette said firmly, gripping the edge of the counter.

Naru paused, actually shocked at her answer. "Okay, let me rephrase that, then," Naru said, taking a moment to collect his angry self, "_Tell me_ what's interfering with your work schedule."

"No," she repeated, her resolve weakening a bit.

The kettle was begging to whistle.

"I'm not asking you to, Mai. _Tell me_."

"No!"

"_Mai._"

The kettle was screaming by now.

The brunette cracked, "Okay, okay!" She turned the heat off and the whistle began to die down.

"I'm the main character in this…_stupid_ school play. They've been forcing me to stay after school and practice, even though I _told_ them I have work."

Naru looked at her like she was stupid. "Was it _really_ that hard?"

"I didn't want to tell you because the play is super embarrassing and I thought you'd tell Bou-san and the others and then they'd want to go see it and…"

Naru sighed and shook his head, walking out of the kitchenette. "Get back to work."

* * *

Mai smiled as she joined the hands of the other cast members and bowed deeply to the crowd. A chorus of hollering, clapping, and whistles ensued. Today had been the last day of the play! No more staying up late to memorize lines or singing in front of a crowd or being super late to work. The play was _finally _over.

After the curtain had finally fallen, Mai was off of the stage and into the changing room like a bat out of hell. After washing all of the green paint from her face and hands, Mai changed out of her witch costume and into a cute floral dress she had just recently bought: her work clothes (yeah, she had _work_ after this).

"Mai, you were a great Elphaba!" Michiru said as she changed from being 'Glinda the good witch' into her normal self, sweaty from the stage lights and hot costume.

"Ah! You were awesome too! We make a great team, don't we?" Mai laughed.

"I'll see you on Monday. Good luck with your boss!" Michiru called as Mai was exiting the changing room. The brunette vaguely recalled telling her friend about her little encounter with Naru and how she found it strange that, instead of yelling at her every time she showed up to work late after that, he'd left her alone.

Mai sighed, "You know I'll need it."

She walked down the hallway with her duffel bag slung over her shoulder, congratulating all the actors she passed on her way out of the building when she was attacked from behind. Two arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her into the air. Mai screamed.

"Bou-san! Put her down, you're going to hurt her like that!" Came a familiar womanly voice.

Mai tried to twist around in the arms of her captor to confirm who she thought it was, but with no such luck. Finally when she was put down, Mai whipped around to find a huge bouquet of red roses had been shoved in her face.

"Congratulations for being the best actress on that stage," Ayako said, a winning smile across her features.

"Ayako and Bou-san?" Mai said, though she could barely see over the roses in her arms.

"We're here, too!" John's Kansai accent came as he and Masako popped out from behind the taller man.

The medium covered her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono. "You did well for having such poor acting skills."

Mai blushed. "W-What are you guys doing here? The only person I told was…"

"Me?" Mai turned only to bump into Naru's hard chest. Lin stood behind him, his face emotionless as ever. "I guess you could call it payback."

"N-N-NARU!" Mai stuttered in surprise, almost dropping the roses. She was angry that he had told everyone, but she was even more embarrassed by the fact that they (_especially_ her boss) had seen her singing and acting on stage. "Don't tell me you guys _actually_ watched the play."

"Of course we did!" Bou-san said, sounding highly offended, "And we can't believe that you didn't tell us about it!"

"I'm sorry, it's just," Mai hesitated, "this was my first time acting and singing in front of a whole bunch of people! What if I had messed up and you guys were there watching? I'd never be able to live it down."

Bou-san rolled his eyes. "Well, as congratulations, we've all decided to go out to eat!"

"Really? Can we go to that really nice Italian restaurant down the street from the office? I've never been!"

"Anything you want Mai, it's our treat."

* * *

Yay! I can't believe I finished this so fast! I thought you guys might appreciate if I updated sooner!

Anyway, the play that Mai was in (because I don't know if all of you are familiar with it) was Wicked! I've never actually gone to see it, but I'm familiar with the story line and what not. Originally, I was going to have Naru get jealous over how (in the play) Mai's supposed to fall in love with 'Fiyero' and what not, but I thought this was a much cuter ending. I hope you guys enjoyed it!

Next up: The Inconveniences of Sleepovers!


	35. Sleepovers

_The Inconveniences of: Sleepovers_

"Mai, what do you want for dinner? We have some leftovers in the fridge," Naru called as he knocked on the girl's door. He eventually swung the door open when no reply came from the confines of her cluttered room. The lights were off and her laptop lay dormant on her bed with a note taped on top.

He walked closer, picking up the flimsy piece of paper in confusion. It read:

_Dear Naru, _

_I'm going to my friend Michiru's house for a sleepover tonight. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but it was a last minute kind of thing. By the way, the leftovers in the fridge are still good, so I left them for you. I'll see you tomorrow!_

_Mai _

Naru rubbed his temples, feeling an oncoming headache (which seemed to happen whenever Mai was concerned).

He sat on Mai's bed and continued to stare at the messily drawn heart she had signed after her name. '_This girl has no clue how she's affecting me,_' he thought with a sigh, nearly flinching at how defeating it sounded in the empty room.

Looking around again with his eye having adjusted to the dim light, Naru noticed the piles of clothes and pillows and various other things on her floor. She had left the house leaving her room looking like this? He was surprised he hadn't tripped when he'd first walked in.

* * *

"He was an asshole, Michiru," Keiko said to console her sobbing friend.

Mai smiled sympathetically, plopping down onto the couch with a gallon of strawberry ice cream that she had picked up at the convenience store on the way over (Michiru's favorite) and three spoons. "You can do so much better than a jerk like him. Just watch, you'll get the funniest, most handsome, most intelligent boyfriend when you go off the college!"

"B-But…I loved h-him so much," the pigtailed girl sobbed. "H-How could he ch-cheat on me like that?"

"It's like all guys nowadays think that if you're not going to 'give him some' than he might as well find someone else to do," Keiko explained.

"He s-said he'd w-wait for me!" Michiru sobbed louder.

Mai handed a spoon to each of them before popping the top off of the ice cream container. "Well, we now know that he's a liar as well. Just forget about him, Michiru. With your looks, you could easily have any other guy."

"Mai's right," Keiko agreed with a smile, "Now, let's watch movies and finish off this whole gallon of ice cream! Who's in?"

* * *

Mai looked over at her friends, both of which were fast asleep on top of each other. They had just started the third movie when they finally passed out. Mai turned her gaze to the empty ice cream container and patted her stomach. Boy, was she was going to be sick tomorrow…

Mai got up and took her phone with her into the bathroom where she called Naru. He answered on the third ring with an annoyed '_What?_'

"Oh, N-Naru!" Mai laughed nervously, suddenly forgetting the reason she had called in the first place. "What's up?"

"'_What's up?'_" Naru inquired, his tone sounding even worse than when he'd first answered the phone. "It's two in the morning, that's what's up."

"Oh," Mai said in realization, pulling her phone away from her face to look at the time. He was right. "I didn't realize…umm. Sorry for bothering you. I just called because…I wanted to make sure you found my note and to check and see if the leftovers were okay. I was supposed to write the amount of time for you to heat them up on the note, but I guess I forgot. Oh! And I know my room is messy, and I would've cleaned it up before I left, but it was kind of an emergency so I really didn't have time. Also, I kind of used some of your money to buy ice cream on the way here. It was only 800 yen, thou–"

"Mai, you're rambling."

"Oh," she said awkwardly, her lips forming a straight line.

There was a lengthy silence before Naru spoke again. "…An emergency?"

"Well, my friend Michiru – you remember her, right? – she just found out today that her boyfriend was cheating on her for the past year. So I guess you could call it a girl emergency."

Naru hummed on the other line as if he were trying to call to mind the girl. "I met her on our first case?"

"Yeah, the one with pigtails," Mai said, her heart fluttering. She was happy to hear that Naru remembered her friends, but was also nervous that he was able to do so. Then again, it was _her_ Naru had called to work for him, not Michiru or Keiko. Mai sighed in relief. "Anyway, I'm sorry for bothering you at two in the morning. I'm sure you're tired, so I'll let you go back to sleep."

Naru's voice stopped her just as she was about to press the 'end' button. "Oh, and Mai?"

"Y-Yes?"

"You owe me 800 yen for that ice cream."

And the line went dead. Mai stared at the phone with a light blush starting to fall across her cheeks. '_What had I been _expecting_ him to say? Jeez._'

* * *

Naru looked at the phone and sighed as the screen grew dim. He fell back onto his bed and rubbed his eyes. '_What exactly was I about to say? Jeez._'

* * *

Okay guy! Sorry for the wait! Next up: The inconvenience of closets!


	36. Closets

_**The Inconveniences of: Closets**_

"Mai, I know I told you to clean your room, but…" Naru looked down at the girl who was sitting on her floor in a pile of (what seemed like) clothes.

Mai looked up sheepishly at her boss standing in the threshold of her room.

"That doesn't mean 'put all of the stuff on your floor, in your closet.'"

Mai sighed, her arm halting as she went to throw another item into her closet. "Well, if that's not what you meant, then I don't know what you did."

"Put it where it belongs."

Mai shifted her gaze to the pile surrounding her. "Technically most of this stuff _does _belong in my closet."

"Then why isn't it on a hanger?" Naru walked closer to better examine the pile's contents.

"Naru!" Mai gave an annoyed whine, throwing a random article of clothing over her head in frustration, "_this_ is how I clean!" Naru eyed the pair of panties that had just flown over his assistant's head before they made their way back to the messy closet that the brunette was motioning to (and that she was still, surprisingly, able to fit more stuff into).

Naru sighed. "If you would just clean it properly and keep it that way, I wouldn't have to nag all the time."

"I don't see why you nag anyway! I mean, it's not like it's your problem!"

"That's right," Naru nodded sarcastically, "It _becomes_ my problem when you make me late for work when you can't find your uniform or your homework in all of this mess."

"Naru," Mai stared at him incredulously, "You're your _own _boss. It's okay to be late."

He rolled his eyes. "And is it so bad to be punctual every once in a while, Mai?" Naru sighed in defeat, sitting next to her on the hard wooden floor. "Here, I'll even help you."

"Eh? R-Really?" Mai inquired disbelievingly, staring at her boss in shock. Then she thought about it for a moment; what if he found something embarrassing? A blush spread across her face like wildfire. "Actually, you know what, that's okay. I can do it on my own, Naru! Thanks for the offer, though."

Naru raised an eyebrow, a smile hinting at the corners of his lips. "Oh? But you seemed so adamant about not doing it before? Can I really trust you to clean this up properly?"

'_No, not really,_' Mai thought to herself honestly.

The pause was long enough for Naru to take her silence as a 'no.' Naru picked up one of Mai's lacy bras and regarded it with interest before Mai snatched it out of his hand, her face burning even more than previously (if that was possible). "A little bold for you, don't you think?"

Mai was too shocked to even register the entirety of what her boss had just said. "Wh-What?"

Naru looked at the clothes hanging up in her closet, the clothes Mai had managed to stuff into the bottom of the closet, and the clothes on the floor still surround himself and his assistant in a large pile. "I think the problem is the amount of clothes you have. Why don't you give some of them away?"

"Eh?" Mai frowned, not liking his idea at all.

"Don't tell me there's not a single thing in this room that doesn't fit you or that you don't wear anymore," Naru said condescendingly.

Mai sighed, falling back into a pile of even more clothes. "_Fine_, have it your way."

* * *

"What about this one?" Mai inquired, striking a risqué pose and giving Naru her best smolder possible as she held the cloth (though it could hardly be called such) up to her.

Naru's eyebrow shot up, and he eyed the clothing in his younger assistant's hands. "Is it even legal for you to go out in that?"

Mai laughed, remembering how her friends had bought the outfit for her as a joke. "Why not?"

"Doesn't look like it will cover much," he said with a chuckle, picking up something else in order to distract himself from the mental image of Mai in the revealing outfit.

Mai's mouth hung open for a second. "Are you calling me fat?" she asked, taking his statement another way. Naru almost froze at her question, but was let off the hook with a playful laugh. "Oh my gosh, you should've seen your face!" The brunette threw it at him, aiming for his face but hitting his arm.

A wave of relief washed over the dark haired boy and he tossed the clothing into the 'give away' pile.

They went on for a while in silence, Naru handing her different things. If she accepted them, she'd put them in the pile behind her (which they were planning on washing and hanging later that night), and if she rejected them, she would throw them in the pile behind Naru.

When Mai's shoulders slumped and she dropped the shirt she was holding, Naru began to worry if maybe his assistant really had been offended by his earlier comment.

"This was actually kind of fun, Naru."

The ocean-eyed boy blinked. "What?"

"It was a compliment!" Mai said, offended, "You could at least accept it."

"Thank you?"

Mai nodded, feeling slightly stupid for feeling insulted. "You're welcome."

They looked down realizing the pile of clothes around them had dwindled significantly. The only things left were socks and underwear. "Next time I ask you to clean up, will you do it?" Naru inquired.

"Nope," Mai said with a smile.

"Well, then," he sighed, standing, "it looks like I'll have to assist you when the time comes."

* * *

Sorry for the wait, but it's finally here! It took a while because I've been working on Behind Closed Doors a lot lately. By the way, I'm also sorry that this ended really weird. But I stopped writing it for a while and forgot how I had originally wanted to end it. So here you go. ALSO, sorry it wasn't as dirty as some of you wanted it to be. ;)

A lot of apologies as usual. Haha.


	37. Stalkers

_**The Inconveniences of: S**__**talkers**_

"That's a little weird, Mai. You're in, like, _every _picture."

Mai looked up from her phone at her friend Keiko's words. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Michiru pointed to the pictures from the athletic festival posted in the hallway. "Keiko's right. You're in just about every one of them."

"What?" Mai made a disgusted sort of expression as she walked up to the board. She carefully un-tacked a picture of herself and inspected it. The shot was of her in mid-sprint during the relay race for her class: red-faced, sweaty, and over-all _gross_. "I look horrible! Oh, just look at the _face_ I'm making."

"Mai," Keiko deadpanned, snatching the picture out of the brunette's grasp, "don't you find this a little too much of a coincidence?"

"What?"

"The fact that you're in almost all of the pictures!"

Mai thought about it for a second. "Nope. I just have this talent of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, I'm in the background in most of these! There's nothing…abnormal about that."

Michiru smiled, as if an ingenious thought had suddenly come to her. "Actually, I have proof that this isn't a coincidence at all!"

"Oh really," Mai inquired, skepticism evident in her voice. "What hard evidence do you have to support your statement?"

"Niyama, Keita."

Keiko gasped at name's mention. "Oh my god, Michiru, you're _so_ right!"

Mai looked at her friends in utter confusion. "First of all, I have no clue what you guys are even talking about any more. Who is this Niyama guy and how does he relate to this situation at all?"

They began walking, leaving the board full of pictures behind as they talked about the pressing matter. Keiko released an exasperated breath. "Niyama? Come on, you know him. He's the nerdy guy with glasses in Michiru's class, not to mention the head of the photography club. He was the one taking the pictures at the athletic festival!"

Mai raised an eyebrow, conjuring up his face in her mind, "I think I know who you're talking about. But if it really was intentional and he meant for me to be in all of the pictures…? I just don't understand. It makes absolutely no sense; the two of us have no connection at all!"

"Hello, Mai?" Michiru tapped Mai on the head, truly wondering if she had any brains. "The guy _likes_ you! And you wonder why Shibuya-san thinks you're so dense."

The brunette laughed and quickly pushed thoughts of her handsome boss out of her mind. "Likes me? I don't think I've ever talked to him!" She shook her head, finding the idea of a guy liking her totally absurd (although it brought a huge smile to her face). "Usually you guys are right about stuff like this, but I think you're way off the mark on this one. There's no way he likes me!"

Keiko sighed, "Why do you think it's so weird for someone to like you, Mai?"

"…because no one ever has?" Mai offered with a pathetic laugh.

"That's the only explanation for the way he acts around you!" Michiru decided, despite Mai's disregard.

"I've even come into contact with him?" Mai inquired, shock by her obliviousness. "When?!"

"You lent him your eraser during the entrance exams. Remember? He started freaking out because he forgot his, and then you lent him your eraser." Keiko starred at her friend, ashamed. "I can't believe you."

Mai blushed angrily, branching off from her friends as they reached the school's entrance. "I can't remember everyone I meet! Anyway, I'm going to be late for work if I don't run for it. See you later!"

Keiko and Michiru looked after their friend as she turned the corner and made off into the city. Michiru smirked, looking up at her taller friend. "I think I'll take a hint at whose preoccupying Mai so much that she doesn't have time to think about dating other guys."

Keiko, on the other hand, was far from smiling. "This guy Niyama is worrying me, actually. And Mai's way too oblivious about this, don't you think?"

"Do you think we should…?"

"I think we _should_ give Naru a call."

* * *

Naru returned the phone to its receiver with a dark look on his face. He sighed, rubbing his forehead in a worried manner. Mai would be the death of him, wouldn't she?

Through his closed door he could hear Mai coming into the office, slamming the door behind her and throwing her bags onto the ground with a breathless apology and excuse for her tardiness. Ignoring her words, he called out for tea. Silence followed, but he imagined her in the next room over, rolling her eyes before setting to her task. Sure enough, the sound of glassware connecting floated throughout the office only seconds later.

Sighing again, he leaned back in his chair thinking about the conversation he had just had with Mai's friend's Michiru and Keiko.

_Five minutes earlier..._

_Naru was sitting propped back in his chair, tapping his pencil and, for some reason, unable to concentrate on his work. Mai was late again today; nothing too unusual. It was going on ten minutes when the phone rang._ _He wasn't much of a talking over the phone kind of person, so naturally he had let the answering machine pick up._

_Naru smiled as Mai's recorded voicemail apologized for any inconveniences caused by SPR's absence and let them know that they would call back as soon as possible if they left their name and number. After the beep, another familiar voice came over the line. "Naru, I know you're there. It's Michiru and Keiko, Mai's friends. I _know_ you remember us. Anyway, we called because we're concerned about Mai. You see, today at school–"_

_As soon as the words 'concerned about Mai' came across the line, Naru was reaching for the phone. "What's happened?" he inquires immediately._

_Mai was late again today, and whereas this was usually the norm, maybe something had happened at school that he was unaware of. Knowing Mai she could've hurt herself and was still getting treated in the infirmary. But if that were the case they would've contacted him seeing as he's Mai's first emergency contact. Or perhaps it wasn't that bad of an injury– _

_Michiru sighs into the speaker. "She's fine, it's just…well, we think she might have a stalker."_

_The answer was unexpected, but worried him nonetheless. "What makes you think that?"_

_A different voice, Keiko, begins to explain the events leading up to their concern. "So we recently had the sports festival at school and they usually print the pictures taken at the events and sell them in the hallway. The thing is, Mai just happens to be in every single picture. We also happen to believe that the photography club's president, who was also the person responsible for taking all of the pictures during the festival, has the biggest crush on her."_

_How very troubling._

"_We don't have any proof that he's a legit stalker or anything, but it doesn't really feel right to us and we're worried about her. She's too oblivious to her surroundings," Keiko continued._

"_Indeed," Naru said darkly._

"_Anyway, we were wondering if maybe you could talk to her or something." Michiru says and Naru can practically hear the grin forming on her face._

"_I'll do something about it," he assures, promptly hanging up the phone._

Present...

He wondered how he should bring up the subject to Mai. Maybe a simple, 'so how was that sport's festival the other day?' might work. Or what about, 'any guys interested in you right now?'

No, no, no; neither of those would work. Especially since they weren't something he'd normally say.

Naru nearly jumped when Mai entered with his tea, but managed to keep it down to a small jerk. This small motion went unnoticed by his oblivious assistant. "Hey, Naru! I know I'm late, but my last class was a little behind schedule."

Whereas Naru usually would've brought up several reasons as to why her excuse was not legitimate, he just murmured a soft, 'I see,' staring her down with his intense blue eyes.

Sensing his strangeness, Mai blushed. "Are…you okay? You seem out of it today."

"Your friends called my just now."

Mai quickly saw where this conversation was going. "…What did they want to talk to you about?"

"They think you might have a stalker," he said slowly, taking a sip of his tea as he continued to eye her.

"Okay," Mai laughed, "they are _definitely_ blowing this out of proportion! I just happened to be in most of the pictured he took at the sports festival. There's nothing wrong with that!"

"_How can you possibly know that when you're so oblivious to everything else?!_" Naru inquired, his voice rising dramatically in volume. He set his tea down as he stood behind his desk.

Shocked, Mai stared at him before looking down at her feet, trying to conceal the tears coming to her eyes. "Maybe it's best if I go home early?"

Realizing that he had gone about approaching his brunette assistant in the wrong way, Naru sighed. "Mai, I didn't meant to–"

She was already out of his office door before Naru could finish. He listened in defeat as the door slammed behind her.

* * *

Mai continued to wipe her teary eyes as she walked with a brisk pace back to the home that she and Naru shared. Where exactly did he get off, telling her stuff like that? Of course she has her short comings, but then again so did he! Maybe she should pick out all of his faults and sucker-punch him in the face with them, too?!

The cold night air finally managed to cool the brunette's temper. She actually began shivering. Wasn't it almost summer, she thought to herself, thinking about how the weather's mood-swings were much like her own.

She was maybe five blocks away from the next street she was supposed to turn on when she heard the heavy steps behind her. She stopped, her feet becoming still against the sidewalk. She heard the other footsteps disappear as well. Someone was following her.

Mai's heart began to pound harder, but she stopped herself from turning around to see her stalker. She already knew who it was: Keita Niyama.

Soon she began walking again, her brisk pace speeding up dramatically. The man followed closely behind, matching her in every movement.

Quickly making sure there were no cars coming, she crossed the street illegally and hurried inside of the convenience store that lay on the corner of two dimly-lit streets.

"Welcome," the clerk said with a smile, obviously having nothing better to do at this time of the day. The sun had already set and it was getting very dark out. There were only two other people in the convenience store that Mai could see.

The brunette nodded breathlessly, trying to put a smile on her face although she was still too freaked out to do so. She ducked behind a magazine rack and waited, seeing if Niyama would follow her into the convenience store.

After five minutes, Niyma still hadn't entered. Maybe he had decided to leave her alone? Mai peeked over the magazine rack and out of the window to see him waiting patiently across the street. She continued hide, sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest.

What was she supposed to do now? Call Naru? Well, that _would_ be the best option…

The store clerk, who could still see her, looked over her with confusion and asked, "Are you alright ma'am? Can I help you with something?"

Realizing how sketchy she was being, Mai offered him a nervous laugh and picked up one of the magazines she saw. "N-No, I'm fine! Just reading the latest!"

The clerk nodded suspiciously, finally looking away from her and minding his own business. Mai sighed with relief, pulling out her phone from her bag and dialing Naru's number. With the understanding that Naru had been right about everything, fresh tears were brought to her eyes.

Why did he always have to prove her wrong?

"–ai? Hello? Mai, are you okay? Answer me!"

Mai jumped, not realizing he had picked up. "Naru," she managed to say, her voice wavering as tears spilled down her cheeks, "you were right! Michiru and Keiko were right. He was following me! I'm so scared; I don't know what to do!"

Connecting the dots, Naru nearly broke the door as he slammed it behind him on his way out of the office. "Where are you right now?!"

"I'm hiding behind the magazine rack in the convenience store a couple of blocks away from the apartment," Mai sniffed, wiping her eyes. "Naru, I'm scared…"

"Don't worry, I'm coming. How long have you been hiding there?"

"About ten minutes. He's still out there, waiting across the street for me to come out."

"Mai, stay on the phone with me okay? Everything is going to be okay," His voice came out his heavy puffs. He was running.

"I will," Mai said, finally calming down. "Naru, you were right. I should've known…I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm really, really sorry."

"It's okay, Mai. I'm almost there, only a block away."

"Thank you. I'm sorry, I–"

The call dropped and the door to the convenience store opened simultaneously. An out of breath Naru entered the dingy convenience store. Ignoring the clerk's greeting, he whipped his head around until he found Mai cowering alone behind the magazine rack she had talked about over the phone.

"Naru!" she cried, standing up and embracing her employer. "I'm so sorry!"

He held her tightly (with a smile on his face), until he finally remembered the situation they were in. He looked over at the clerk, who was astonished by the pair, "Sorry for the inconvenience."

He wrapped a possessive arm around his assistant's waist and exited the convenience store to face Niyama. "N-Naru, what are you–"

"M-Mai?" Niyama stuttered to the brunette across the street, disappointed to see another man's arms around her. He shot her a look of betrayal, reaching out for her. "Say it isn't so!"

Mai looked down, embarrassed to be in this situation. Having a guy, whom she didn't even know, pining over her, only to have her boss, whom she's sure has no feeling for her, fend him off.

The most unfortunate part, however, was that Naru only saw her as a co-worker. The big hand that rested on her hip, pulling her closer to his side; the possessive nature he held. It was all an act.

"She is _mine_," Naru growled possessively, leaning over to capture her mouth with his own.

And, _boy_, was Naru a good actor.

Her eyes fluttered closed as Naru deepened the kiss.

Mai was overwhelmed. It was her first time being dipped back and kissed so…meaningfully. She melted at his touch, becoming completely weak in his arms.

Naru's eyes, which had been open the whole time, shot Niyama a deathly glare that very clearly sent the message, '_back off, unless you want an early death_'.

Niyama quickly scurried down the dim street and, as much as he wanted to prolong it, Naru broke their kiss.

"I don't think that guy will be bothering you again."

Mai's mind was reeling so fast, she couldn't reply with anything more than a shaky nod.

Hiding his disappointment at not being able to kiss her any longer, Naru settled for putting his hand on the small of her back and leading the way to the apartment.

"Now, what's for dinner?"

* * *

Sorry for the late update! I hope not everyone has given up on this story! Anyway, I'm glad I didn't post what this chapter was going to be about because I had a really tough time writing my original idea, so I changed it to this!

I hope you guys like it!

Next time: _The Inconveniences of Amusement Parks!_


	38. Amusement Parks

_**The Inconveniences of: Amusement Parks**_

Mai smiled like a little girl as she licked the melting ice cream from her cone. "It's been so long since I've been here! Thanks for taking me! Honestly, I thought you wouldn't want me to be tagging along on a da–"

Ayako blushed and sent the brunette a look that told her not to finish the statement. Bou-san, who had only paid attention to the beginning of her sentence, finished his ice cream and smiled at his 'younger sister' figure. "No problem! It was Ayako's idea anyway."

Mai raised an eyebrow at the red-head, who simply looked away. The miko avoided the subject by pointing out a picture booth. "Oh, look! We should go take some!"

Bou-San's face lit up and he seconded her notion.

"No, thanks," Mai opted with a smile, waving them on, "I'm having a bad hair day. Besides, I doubt all three of us would be able to fit."

"But–" Ayako protested, her face turning scarlet as she realized what the brunette had done.

"Come on, Ayako, you know Mai's right. There's only room for two!" Bou-san agreed with a wink, dragging the miko by the arm into the booth. Mai smiled, hearing their voices muffled by the thick curtain. "Now, how do we work it?" Bou-san was such an old man!

"Idiot! It says here, 'put 50 yen in the slot'. Can't you read?"

"What slot? If you're so smart, why don't you do it, huh?"

"You're the one who wanted to get our pictures taken!"

"Well, you're the one who pointed it out, _A-ya-ko_!"

Mai could only imagine the beet-red face the miko was probably sporting right now. "W-Whatever! Let's just get this over with."

"Well, you gotta smile, at least!" Bou-san said, slipping the coin in the slot.

"This _is_ my smile, idiot!"

_Flash_

"Well, you've got an ugly smile, that's for sur–ah! Hey, that hurt!"

_Flash_

"That's what you get!"

_Flash_

"For _what_?!"

_Flash_

"For being an idiot! Look, the pictures are developing. It says to collect them outside."

"How can you act so normal after beating someone up in a picture booth?" Bou-san exclaimed as he exited the small space first, rubbing his head as he did so. "You're horrible!"

Ayako followed closely behind the monk, her arms crossed with a scowl on her face. "I _did not_ beat you up! It was one hit. And you deserved it."

"Can't you two stop arguing for two seconds?" Mai inquired, rolling her eyes. "Ayako, come with me to the bathroom. Bou-san, you can stay here and wait for the picture to develop!"

She took the red-head by the arm, leading her to the girl's bathroom.

"What is wrong with you?" Mai inquired as soon as Bou-san was out of ear-shot.

"There's nothing wrong with me?" Ayako answered, unsure of what the brunette was saying.

Mai crossed her arms, a scowl on her face (much like Ayako when she had exited the photo booth). "Tell me the real reason you invited me to the amusement park with you guys."

The priestess blushed a shade dark enough to match her own hair. "I told you, we had an extra ticket–"

"Somehow I doubt that."

"Okay, _fine_. I…I don't want to be alone with Takigawa…"

"What?" Mai was taken aback. "But why? You like him! And it's so obvious he likes you back! But you keep inviting me on your dates: that time at the Aquarium, then at the zoo, and even when you went out to dinner at that fancy restaurant and dragged me along!"

"I'm just scared, okay! Maybe I'm not ready for a relationship?" Ayako covered her face, embarrassed by what she had just said. "Besides, those weren't _dates_."

"Believe me, they were," Mai deadpanned. This had been going on for quite a while, after all. "Of course you're ready for a relationship! I think you're just afraid you'll do something stupid and scare him off. Which, I'm sure isn't possible since both of you have seen each other at your worst."

Ayako sighed. "But what if you're wrong, Mai?"

"Look, I'm wrong about a lot of things, _as proven multiple times by Naru_, but this I am not wrong about. Trust me!" When Ayako's eyes became filled with doubt, Mai smiled, "Listen, I have a plan!"

"Mai," the red-head said, exhausted, "you know I hate your plans."

"This is going to work, I promise!" Mai winked, leaning in close and cupping her hand around her mouth. "Come on, this is what I want you to do…"

* * *

Ayako exited the bathroom without Mai, rubbing her arm nervously.

"Ayako? Are you okay? Where's Mai?" Bou-san inquired, becoming increasingly worried at Ayako's nervousness.

"Mai says she doesn't feel too good. She told us to go on without her," Ayako said, repeating perfectly the excuse Mai had given her. "She called Naru. He's coming to pick her up."

Finding the story a bit suspicious, Bou-san raised an eyebrow. He shrugged it off, however. "So you're sure we can leave her in there? She'll be okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Probably just a stomach ache is what she said."

"Okay, then," the monk trailed off awkwardly, looking down at his red-head crush who was avoiding his eyes at all cost. "Why don't we go on the Ferris wheel, then?"

"The Ferris wheel? A-Are you sure?" Ayako inquired, her heart beating faster at the mere suggestion. Wasn't that the ride you were supposed to go on with your boyfriend/girlfriend? Wasn't it the ride where lovers proposed? Her heart skipped a beat.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights, Ayako?" Bou-san teased, leaning down to get a better view of her flushed cheeks.

"O-Of course not! Who's afraid of heights? Don't be ridiculous!" she exclaimed, turning around and heading to the Ferris wheel to prove him wrong.

Bou-san laughed, following closely. "Plenty of people are afraid of heights. It's nothing to be ashamed of…"

Their voices finally trailed off enough for Mai to come out of hiding. About time there was some progress in their relationship!

* * *

"You sure you're not too scared?" the brunette monk inquired teasingly, looking up at the ridiculously tall ride.

"Of course I'm not." Ayako said confidently, despite having second thoughts (and not because of the height of the Ferris wheel)…What if Mai was wrong and Bou-san really just liked her as a friend. Then she'd be making a fool out of herself!

It was too much for the red-head, but Bou-san already had his arm around her waist, leading her into the small capsule. Her heart was beginning to do double-time.

"Wow, are you sure you want to do this? You're looking pretty pale," the monk informed, leaning close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin.

"I told you, I'm fine!" Ayako insisted, backing away as far as the enclosed space allowed. She looked out of the window as they began to move upwards.

The silence between them soon became irrefutably unbearable and it was not helping that Bou-san's eyes were beginning to burn a hole in her face. Ayako would've done anything at that moment to break the tension in the air, but she had no clue how. She was probably the one who was causing it anyhow.

If only he would just stop staring at her!

"Ayako."

Finally he said something! However, the tension increased tenfold after he did so. Ayako nodded hesitantly, still gazing out at the beautiful scenery.

"You realize that you haven't looked at me the whole day, right?" Bou-san noted pensively.

Well, that wasn't really what she had been expecting him to say.

"Oh," Ayako said simply, wanting to hit herself afterwards, "I guess I haven't been feeling well today, either. Maybe Mai and I have caught some sort of bug–"

"You know that's not why you haven't been able to meet my eyes," Bou-san challenged, his own chocolate eyes narrowing. "So tell me what the real reason is."

Ayako shook her head, closing her eyes. "I can't."

"Look at me," he demanded.

"No."

"Ayako, look at me."

"_No!_"

There was moment of electric silence. Just as they began to reach the top of the ride, Ayako thought he had given up. She sighed, almost as if she were disappointed he had not tried harder.

Suddenly the ride halted, their capsule swaying back and forth. Of course, this was normal. They had to stop to let passengers off and on of the ride, didn't they? Ayako was nervous, though. This felt different than her usual Ferris wheel experience. "Oh my god," she murmured, anxiously looking down at the ground which was so far away from her.

A crowd of men in yellow were gathered at the bottom of the ride, mechanics Ayako guessed, and she knew at that moment that there was something wrong with the ride. Now she was stuck at the top of a broken Ferris wheel, and to make matters worse, it was with Takigawa!

Bou-san followed her line of vision and cursed under his breath.

The miko's breathing became shallow and quick and she clutched onto the edge of her seat. Bou-san waited for her knuckles to turn white (which didn't take long) to say something. "Ayako, are you alright?"

The red-head leaned back, relaxing herself against the seat. "Calm down, calm down, calm down," Ayako chanted, unsure of why she was feeling so queasy. She didn't have a problem with heights, so that wasn't it. She'd never had any problems with being in small spaces, so it couldn't have been claustrophobia or anything.

Somehow Ayako had a feeling it was being with Takigawa that was making her so weird.

"Seriously, Ayako, you're scaring me," the monk said, leaning on the floor in front of her. She hadn't even noticed him getting closer until he had her hands in his. "If you were really this scared of heights, we never should have–"

Ayako shook her head, and the brunette stopped to listen. "It's not that. It really isn't."

"Then what is it? I need you to tell me, Ayako," Bou-san demanded, his expression serious. He must've been really worried.

Her heart doing double-time, Ayako looked away, now flushed instead of placid. "It's you."

Bou-san seemed taken aback. "What?"

"You make me feel weird and nervous and my legs get all weak. I don't like it," she said with a frown, her palms becoming sweaty in his much bigger ones, "but I like you. A lot."

She could see Bou-san's throat bob up and down as he swallowed. Was he disgusted by her? Did he hate her? It was too much for Ayako.

"Wow, I shouldn't have said that," she shook her head, "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. I take it back–"

Bou-san glared at her, standing up and causing their capsule to rock back and forth. "Don't you dare take that back. I won't let you."

"What?" Ayako inquired, looking into his eyes for the first time since they had gotten to the park, "What do you mean?"

He leaned down, sealing her lips with his own. "You can't confess to someone and take it back. That's against the rules."

Mai smiled, watching from afar as Ayako and Bou-san left the fixed Ferris Wheel hand in hand. "Success!"

* * *

Whoa! Its been so long, but guess what? I'm back, bitches! Anyway, I started writing this chapter when I realized I already had half of it done. Sorry for the late update. I'll be sure to get more up soon.

Also for many of those who were wondering whether or not the last chapter was based off of _Say "I Love You" _aka_Suki-tte Ii na yo, _it was. I was watching it around the time I was writing that chapter and fell in love. I couldn't resist! Hope you liked it.


	39. Being Sick: Part 2

**The Inconveniences of: Being Sick**

_(Part 2!)_

A dry coughing fit was what woke Mai up in the middle of the night.

Not her own, no, but _Naru's_.

At first, Mai thought to just let Naru handle it himself. He was a capable person after all, especially after seeing him take care of her during her bout of Laryngitis. Another fit of rasping coughs caused Mai to stare up at the ceiling with a scowl.

Suddenly thinking of his concern for her while she had been sick, it felt wrong for her to not go see how he was doing.

Sitting up groggily in bed, Mai threw off the large comforter that had previously been resting heavily over her legs. She stood and made her way to the door where she stopped to listen.

The distinctive clinking of ceramic upon ceramic; a familiar whistle; Naru's bare feet padding across the floor.

He was making tea.

Naru hardly ever made tea himself. When he did, it was always some sort of special occasion or time when Mai was not present to make it for him.

With a small smile, Mai opened the door and shuffled across the wooden floor until she reached the kitchen threshold. Sensing her presence without even a glance in her direction, Naru retrieved another teacup from the top of the cupboard, wordlessly pouring a second round of tea.

"Sounds bad," Mai stated quietly, and while she was genuinely concerned for her boss, a hint of amusement had found its way into her words. What a surprise it was to see him, of all people, sick. After all, it was the first instance in all of the time they had known each other that he had been in such horrible condition (other than when he was in the hospital for using Qigong).

Naru glared at her with a shake of his head.

Mai vaguely wondered why he wasn't responding when the realization hit her. He had probably lost his voice with all of that coughing!

"Naru, can you even whisper?" she inquired, slightly shocked that it had gotten this bad. When she received no response, Mai sighed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

When Naru looked at her pensively, she laughed.

Eyeing his tea, she shuffled over to the pantry lazily. "Before you drink that, you should put some honey in it. It's supposed to help," she informed.

After returning with the jar of golden liquid, Mai took a spoon from the utensil drawer and scooped a bit out, handing out to her boss who simply looked at it like it was poison.

So the big bad Naru was afraid of some honey? Mai smiled, egging him on playfully. "It's for your own good! Honey isn't that bad, especially in tea. You should try it!"

But Naru did not take the spoon from her.

Instead, he leaned forward, his lips enveloping the curved end of the spoon, eyeing her all the while with his dark, oceanic eyes.

Mai was now officially awake, any sleepiness she had been feeling prior had now dissipated completely. Mouth wide open in shock, the utensil nearly fell from her shaking hand and clattered to the floor.

Naru, however, wrapped his hand around her smaller, trembling one with ease, running his fingers over the curves of her knuckles.

"Wh-Wha…" she flushed down to her roots.

"Who said I lost my voice?" Naru's raspy retort was whispered into her ear. Her skin suddenly hypersensitive, Mai flinched at the feeling of her employer's breath on her neck.

"But you…" She blinked, realizing slowly that she had merely assumed he had lost his voice. She had done this to herself.

Naru shrugged, walking away with his tea in hand. "_I_ never said anything."

* * *

I apologize for how horribly shot this chapter is! I've been slacking off, I know. However, the next one should prove to be a good one lol. After all, it is 'that time of the month'!


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